Canucks’ Arturs Silovs dealing with knee inflammation, should be fine for training camp
It looks like Arturs Silovs’ first full season in the NHL is going to begin with some complications.
According to CHEK news’ Rick Dhaliwal, the Vancouver Canucks goaltender is apparently not feeling 100% healthy right now due to some inflammation in his knee.
Just talked with Latvian GM Rūdolfs Kalvītis on the status of #Canucks goalie Arturs SIlovs.
Kalvītis : It was determined he is not 100% healthy due to a little bit inflammation in his knee.
We were concerned & don't want to push him, he should be fine for the #Canucks camp.
Silovs was apparently set to get into action with the Latvian national team, as he was on their camp roster ahead of the qualification tournament for the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. However, with this minor injury, he will not play with the team, as Latvian GM Rudolfs Kalvitis stated that they didn’t want to push the goaltender while dealing with the inflammation.
Klavitis also made a point to emphasis that the injury isn’t a major one, and that Silovs should be fine by the time the Canucks begin training camp in September. That will be good news for the 23-year-old, who is set to be the team’s backup goaltender this season after his performance in the 2024 playoffs.
Silovs assumed the crease for the final three games of the Canucks’ first round series against the Nashville Predators and then all of their seven-game second round series against the Edmonton Oilers in the wake of injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith. In those 10 games, Silovs had a 5-5-0 record, an .898% save% and one shutout.
Silovs spent a majority of the regular season in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, where he had a 16-11-6 record, .907% save percentage and 4 shutouts in 34 games, but did get into four NHL games with a 3-0-1 record and an .881% save%.
Silovs was a sixth-round pick for the Canucks in the 2019 NHL Draft out of the MHL, and after a season in the OHL, he spent two seasons in the minors before finally making his NHL debut with the Canucks for five games in the 2022-23 season, followed by the games that he played with them last season.
Silovs is currently beginning a new contract, a two-year deal with a cap hit of $850,000. He signed the deal as a restricted free agent in the middle of July, and while it wasn’t much of a raise for someone securing an NHL role, it is his first one-way contract.
The Canucks will look to continue off of their success in 2023-24 and potentially go on a deeper run than last season. In hopes of doing so, they’ve bolstered the lineup with additions like Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Daniel Sprong, Vincent Desharnais and Derek Forbort for the upcoming season.