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Arturs Silovs' return to Vancouver exposes the Canucks' one critical error
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Arturs Silovs walks into Rogers Arena tonight, not as the local hero who saved the Canucks' 2024 playoff run, but as the engine behind Pittsburgh's resurgence.
The emotions in the building are going to be raw.
It wasn't supposed to end like this for Silovs in BC.
Traded last July for prospect Chase Stillman and a mid-round pick, the move was seen as a salary dump by Vancouver management.
Pittsburgh saw something else: a starter in waiting.
Since arriving in the Steel City, the 24-year-old has been a revelation, posting a solid 9-6-8 record to stabilize the Penguins' crease alongside Tristan Jarry.
Tonight, he stares down his former teammates.
The contrast between the two teams couldn't be starker.
Pittsburgh (25-14-11) is flying, sitting comfortably in a playoff spot, while the Canucks (17-29-5) are spiraling toward the lottery.
Silovs, drafted by Vancouver in the 6th Round (2019), has outplayed the goaltending mess he left behind.
Silovs haunts the Vancouver Canucks
"We literally gave him away for nothing," one Canucks fan tweeted this morning, capturing the mood of a fanbase watching their former prospect thrive elsewhere.
The eye test backs up the numbers.
Silovs looks calm, confident, and drastically more polished than the erratic version Vancouver traded away.
He isn't just "playing well"; he is stealing points for a team that desperately needed them.
Tonight isn't just a game on the schedule.
It is a statement game for a kid who was told he was expendable.
If he starts, expect the Penguins to play hard for him.
They know what this game means to their netminder.
Vancouver better be ready, because Silovs definitely is.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Why Kyle Dubas may have no choice but to extend one Penguins defenseman now
Why Kyle Dubas may have no choice but to extend one Penguins defenseman now
Previously on HockeyUnplugged
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 25|156 ANSWERS Arturs Silovs' return to Vancouver exposes the Canucks' one critical error Should the Canucks regret trading Arturs Silovs? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 69.9 % |
| No | 47 | 30.1 % |
| List of polls | ||