Image

The Canucks Goalie Situation, Simple as Demko and Silovs… Right?

By: Brayden Fengler / July 11, 2024  

For years the Canucks goalie plan has seemingly been to throw Thatcher Demko in the net for as many games as a human body can physically take. Then for the games in-between, find anyone with a pulse and pray they can do the trick. However, all of that seemed to change this past season for a few reasons.

He played 29 games for the club and while not an equal to Demko by any means, it looked like DeSmith proved to be a reliable backup for the future. DeSmith seemd to finally be the guy that could give Demko a few more nights off without it hurting the Canucks’ place in the standings.

However, the Canucks let 32-year-old Casey DeSmith walk in free agency, having other plans for the goaltending future in Vancouver. Will playoff hero Arturs Silovs be answering the call as the Canucks backup next season? With Silovs currently sitting without a contract for next season, is there something we’re missing?

The Season That Was

If Casey DeSmith had remained as the Canucks second-string netminder for another campaign, I don’t think it would’ve had too many people up in arms. As mentioned, DeSmith had a respectable year.

He posted a 0.896 save percentage and out of 29 starts earned his club 12 wins, one shutout, and another six games that he helped drag into overtime for at least a 1-point result. He by no means was close to stealing any spotlight from Demko, but he kept the Canucks competitive in every game he played in.

But we know that Artus Silovs stole the show during the playoffs. Silovs was the Abbotsford Canucks netminder for a large part of their season last year but was plucked from the sidelines after both Demko and DeSmith weren’t healthy enough to play in the first round of the playoffs.

With only nine games under his belt in the NHL before his playoff debut, Silovs looked like he’d been there 1000 times. The 23-year-old ended up playing in 10 playoff games, spanning two rounds, helping his team win five of those ten contests, bringing them within inches of a round three appearance.

Silovs and His Contract Status

With Silovs’ short but sweet display of impressive performances under pressure, it’s understandable why the Canucks might see someone like DeSmith, nearly 10 years older than Silovs, as a less attractive option moving forward.

However, as it stands, Silovs is still without a contract. It’s been remarkably quiet on this front, so quiet that I’m sure most Canucks fans assume that his deal must’ve been completed in the furry of all the other signings that took place near the end of June and into early July.

Silovs is of course still a restricted free agent so the Canucks aren’t competing against anyone but the clock when it comes to inking his deal, but as more time ticks on, it doesn’t feel any less strange. Silovs is likely to be the team’s number two goalie, potentially capable of sharing more starts with Demko than any back-up the Canucks have had in recent years, yet he remains in contract limbo.

Canucks Goalie Picture at Large

One goalie the Canucks did sign over recent months was Jiří Patera. This was a July 1st deal seeing Patera take a two-year two-way deal for a potential NHL take home of $775K a year.

Patera at 25 has played even fewer NHL games than Silovs, with eight to his name over the last two seasons in the Vegas Golden Knights system.

If Silovs is the new backup for Vancouver you do need a goalie of a similar caliber to pick up his starts in the AHL, not just for Abbotsford’s sake but as a safety net should Silovs’ development need more time than hoped for. This is a role that Casey DeSmith at his stage of his career, likely had no interest in playing.

Beyond Demko, Silovs and now Patera the Canucks’ one other signed goalie is 24-year-old Nikita Tolopilo who applied his trade in Abbotsford last year, and again looks to start a significant amount of games for that club.

Preferred Result

Silovs will get his contract, there is little doubt about that. But will he be the Canucks’ go-to backup to start the season? That remains to be seen. The club could very well start him in Abbotsford and have him work his way up to the big club, but the likelihood of that seems slim.

Allvin and company should know what they have in Silovs. If starting as an NHL goaltender through two rounds of Stanley Cup playoffs does not earn you the right to at least start the season as a backup goalie, then I don’t know what possibly could.

At 23 Siloves is the perfect age to make the jump to the NHL. He has given no reason for anyone to think he won’t be able to land it.