Analyst: Canucks Have NHL's Best Goalie Duo

If things go right for the Vancouver Canucks, Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs may run away as the NHL's best tandem.

Apr 2, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs (31) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks may have seen prospect goalie Arturs Silovs a little more than expected during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Considering he was the Canucks’ third-string goalie heading into the postseason, the fact Silovs got in at all was surprising to everyone.

After 10 playoff games, however, Silovs showed he may be ready for the full-time jump to the NHL. The Canucks signed the restricted free agent to a two-year contract locking him in as Thatcher Demko’s backup netminder.

With a duo of a Vezina candidate in Demko and a budding prospect in Silovs, do the Canucks have one of the top tandems in the NHL?

TSN analyst Frank Corrado believes they have a chance to be; it’ll just take Silovs meeting expectations.

“Just by default, having Thatcher Demko as your starting goaltender, you’re going to be considered one of the best goaltending duos,” Corrado said. “But, Arturs Silovs is still a relevant unknown when it comes to what he can do in the regular season.”

Silovs has those 10 postseason games under his belt, but he’s never played a full regular season in the NHL. At 23 years old, Silovs has played nine regular season games with a career 6-2-1 record.

In four games played this past season, he went nearly perfect, 3-0-1, but with a .881 save percentage. Most of his time in the Canucks organization has been spent with their AHL squad in Abbotsford.

“Arturs Silovs is going to have a significant amount of responsibility this season,” Corrado said. “Not just be a backup… to be a guy who actually contributes. And if that is the case and he plays well, and Demko plays well, then yes, that’s going to be considered one of the best duo of goaltenders in the NHL.”

Corrado knows that there is work to be done, but the duo of Demko and Silovs may emerge as a top goaltending tandem in the NHL. The Canucks finished the 2023-24 season with a 50-23-9 record and will indeed look only to get better.

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