Last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins boosted their goaltending depth by acquiring Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks. This move came less than two weeks after shipping Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks, seemingly clearing up the logjam that developed at the position across the Penguins system.
Now with the addition of Silovs into the mix, that same logjam has returned just with a new face. Just by looking at the depth chart as it sits now, common sense says the Penguins will need to make
another goaltender trade at some point this summer to once again sort out the depth chart.
As of July 20th, the Penguins have five goaltenders on NHL contracts in the system. Tristan Jarry, Joel Blomqvist, Arturs Silvos, Sergei Murashov, and Filip Larsson. Three of those names played NHL games last season, while all five saw AHL action in some fashion. In fact, after how 2024-25 played out for Tristan Jarry, it’s mildly incredible we are still talking about him as a Penguins goaltender this summer.
When they moved Nedeljkovic earlier this month, it seemed the goaltending situation had been mostly sorted out. They were going to hold onto Jarry as the No. 1 heading into the new season with Blomqvist settling in as the backup at the NHL level.
It’s apparent the organization views Murashov as the future in goal but he’s not quite ready for the leap, so he was going to get more development time in the AHL with Larsson serving as the backup and possibly the emergency callup to the NHL if needed.
Silovs being added to the mix now complicates what seemed to be a rather clear cut depth chart in between the pipes for the Penguins. What further complicates matters for the Penguins is Silovs comes with pedigree, both at the AHL level and some at the NHL level. In leading the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup last month, Silovs was unconscious in goal, posting a .931 save percentage and 2.01 goals against on his way to winning playoff MVP.
While not proven at the NHL level where plenty of questions still remain regarding Silovs, he did have an impressive stint with the Canucks back in 2024 when he was pressed into action after Thatcher Demko and Casey Desmith were lost for the playoffs. Silovs stepped up and helped the Canucks push the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games.
It’s a very small sample size for Silovs in the NHL, and overall it’s been a mixed bag, but he’s shown he can hold his own. If you’re putting together the Penguins goalie depth chart at this moment, he likely slides into the backup role behind Jarry which was seemingly going to be Blomqvist until last week.
That leads to the ultimate question surrounding the Penguins and their goalie depth as this time. What’s the next domino to fall?
Logic says they will make another trade before the season to break the logjam in goal, but the options for a trade boil down to just two real candidates. Silvos and Murashov are certainly not going anywhere any time soon. Larsson has no real trade value and moving him doesn’t actually solve the greater problem. \
That leaves just Jarry and Blomqvist, the two everyone thought were going to be the duo leading the Penguins into the 2025-26 season. If you took a poll of the fan base, a large majority are likely to say move Jarry at the earliest convenience. Easier said than done given his contract and the state of his play for most of last season. Blomqvist is the easier deal to move but there is little trade value there as well, plus he’s still young and has only had a cup of coffee at the NHL level.
In the end though, the Penguins best efforts to clear this logjam in goal appears to lie in moving either Jarry or Blomqvist out. Penguins fans certainly have a preference, and I’m sure Dubas does as well, but until it happens we can only speculate.
Either way, the dam will have to break at some point with Silovs now in the fold and the ever emerging presence of Murashov on the horizon. It feels like only a matter of time until there is a solution offered up by Dubas and the Penguins front office.
More from pensburgh.com:
- The Penguins handed Michael Jordan a loss in his only NHL playoff series
- An Avengers team comprised of Penguins players
- Murray or Jarry? A decision awaits for Jim Rutherford
- Looking at our Penguins 2020 roster prediction from two years ago
- Who is on your must-watch Penguins list (after the big four)?
- The one Penguins prospect you had high hopes for, but didn’t pan out
- Looking at our Penguins 2020 roster prediction from two years ago
