The Vancouver Canucks ran into horrible injury luck in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Starting goalie Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1 of their first round series against the Nashville Predators. Before Game 4, backup Casey DeSmith also picked up an injury. That led to the team turning to 23-year-old Arturs Silvos, who played well in the playoffs for Vancouver.
The Canucks are certainly grateful for his performances in the playoffs. And on Wednesday, they awarded him with a new contract. Vancouver signed Silvos to a two-year contract, the team announced. The 23-year-old will earn $850,000 in each of the two seasons of the deal.
The Latvian puck-stopped played just nine games in the NHL before this past postseason. In the playoffs, though, he helped the Canucks immensely. He finished with a 5-5 record, a 2.91 goals against average, and an .898 save percentage. Vancouver made the second round and came within a game of the Western Conference Finals thanks to his performance.
Arturs Silvos will have an NHL opportunity next season
Silvos wasn’t the most lights-out goalie of the postseason. But he did more than enough to get the Canucks within striking distance of the Western Conference Finals. He certainly did more than many expected him to do in the playoffs. Heading into the new season, the Latvian goaltender will have a chance to make the roster out of training camp.
“Arturs helped us out a lot when called upon last year as he continues to grow and develop as a goalie,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement, via Sportsnet. “We expect him to come into training camp and battle for a full-time position with the big club. Our group will continue to work with him to help sharpen his skills and provide him with all the tools necessary to take another step forward in his young career.”
This seemed to be the case even before the Canucks signed the young netminder to this contract extension. Casey DeSmith joined Vancouver through an offseason trade with the Montreal Canadiens last summer. While he had an okay season, he didn’t play to his usual standards. In fact, this past season was the first time he recorded a save percentage less than .905.
DeSmith left the Canucks in NHL Free Agency back on July 1. He joined the Dallas Stars on a three-year contract. As a result, Arturs Silvos has a legitimate chance to be the backup to Thatcher Demko. Based on his postseason performance, it may be fair to say he’s the favorite to win the backup job. In any event, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how the 23-year-old performs this upcoming season.
