Given how he sparkled during the playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs should be applauded.
But not rewarded.
Well, rewarded to the extent that he gets some sort of contract to stay with the franchise as he enters restricted free agency this offseason.
Sure. Reward him to that degree.
He just shouldn’t be rewarded with the No. 1 goalie designation heading into 2026-27.
Enough messing around. Enough with the slow play. It’s time to give Sergei Murashov the chance to be that guy next year.
Hopefully, Kyle Dubas and Dan Muse won’t let recency bias cloud their judgment in that regard. Indeed, Silovs was stellar versus Philly. The 25-year-old Latvian went 2-1 after replacing Stuart Skinner, yielding just five goals on 82 shots for a save percentage of .939 and a goals-against average of 1.52. His only defeat was the 1-0 overtime loss in Game 6.
rt if you would die for Arturs Silovs ???? pic.twitter.com/D4Kso8ZQwM
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 30, 2026
“For him to come into this series the way that he did, I can’t say enough about him,” coach Dan Muse said after the Flyers’ victory. “He’s such a competitor, his preparation is incredible, and he had a great season for us. A lot of big wins, and his game has continued to grow as the year went on.”
Skinner was fine too. His goaltending in the first two games of that series versus Philadelphia was the only thing that prevented those contests from being blowouts in favor of the Flyers. He won 12 regular-season games for the Pens and got points for the team in 17 of 26 contests.
But he’s an unrestricted free agent and will have a job next year in another city. Silovs will probably be here. But his role should be to be nothing more than a No. 2 — or maybe a 1B — to Murashov.
This has to be Murashov’s job next year. He’s been positioned as the franchise’s answer in net for a few years now, and it’s time to give him that crack, despite Silovs’ highlights this spring.
Murashov came up for a taste of NHL life in November and December. He only played five games and went 1-1-2. That said, in that limited sample size, his GAA (2.56) and save percentage (.897) were actually better than Silovs’ (3.07/.888) or Skinner’s (2.99/.885) during their time as Penguins this year.
Not to mention, that was a stretch of the schedule when the Penguins were struggling to score, losing five of six, and any goal Murashov allowed felt like a crusher.
In 38 AHL games this year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Murashov was 24-9-4 with a 2.20 GAA and save percentage of .919. He also stopped 26 of 29 shots in an overtime playoff win against Hershey on Tuesday night.
BIG left pad save by Sergei Murashov keeps #WBSPens ahead 2-1 with 6:06 left in the 1st period.@InsideAHLHockeypic.twitter.com/qQ4zE8JVrD
— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) May 5, 2026
“Moving forward, we want to continue to take steps in all departments,” Muse said Friday while answering a question about the team’s goaltending plans. “This isn’t going to be something where I’m walking away from any area saying I’m satisfied. We’ve got to continue taking steps and moving in the right direction in everything that we do — in all positions and all facets. On ice. Behind the scenes. Everything.”
That was encouraging to hear from Muse. It doesn’t sound like he’s become a prisoner of the moment following Silovs’ heroics versus the Flyers. President of hockey operations Kyle Dubas hasn’t spoken yet in the wake of the playoff series loss, but hopefully, he feels the same way.
For his part, Silovs appears to have an open mind about his future in Pittsburgh, and his playing time if he stays.
“It’s up to them,” Silovs said of his status next season. “I’m just trying to do my best for all these guys. They deserve the best. I just want to do my role and be that last guy they can (count) on.”
The Penguins had a chance to give that No. 1 job to Murashov at the start of the season. This was a year that he could have developed in a vacuum of no expectations. Or they could’ve brought the 21-year-old Russian back to the NHL once the club started playing better. They decided against both options and allowed him to get a ton of seasoning in the minors.
Great. That time is over. Give Murashov the net next fall regardless of how impressive Silovs was to end the year.
Listen: Tim Benz and Phil Bourque discuss the Penguins goaltending and the offseason on 105.9 The X