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Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Canucks Get Big Win With Kevin Lankinen Extension

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Lukas Bernasiewicz | Last updated Feb 22, 2025 11:30 AM ET

While the entire hockey world relished in an incredible 4 Nations Face-Off that concluded on Thursday, the Vancouver Canucks quickly went back to business. The team signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4.5 million. With Lankinen’s play this season, he deserves this contract. From the Canucks’ point of view, this is a great contract that is going to help them tremendously for years to come.

Lankinen Is a Starting Goalie

Coming into this season, the Canucks were given bad news on the current state of Thatcher Demko, as he entered training camp unable to play due to an injury he sustained during the playoffs last season. The Canucks needed to scramble to find a goaltender. Luckily, Lankinen was still available, and the team signed him to a one-year contract. Lankinen joined the Canucks and by the start of the regular season, he won the starting goaltender job.

Lankinen has put up good numbers all season long. He currently has a 19-8-7 record with a goals-against average of 2.53 and a .905 save percentage, along with four shutouts. His performance this season was so good that he was named to Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He started two games.

This has been the first season since he was a rookie that Lankinen has taken over the starting job for his team. In his first NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks, he played in 37 out of 56 games and posted a .909 save percentage on a team that did not make the playoffs. After that season, he played 32 games in Chicago, then 19 games with the Nashville Predators the next season, then 24 more games in Nashville the following season.

He began to be seen as just a backup until he arrived in Vancouver and proved everyone wrong. Lankinen showed that he is a true number-one goaltender and earned the trust of his teammates and the Canucks’ management.

A Big Win for the Canucks

With the salary cap set to grow exponentially over the next three seasons, locking players to long-term contracts at manageable cap hits will be tough. But the Canucks got ahead of that problem early with this contract. Lankinen looks to be the Canucks’ starting goaltender for the future, depending on what happens with Thatcher Demko.

Signing Lankinen to a contract that is half a decade long at a cap hit that will be less than 5% of the cap ceiling in three seasons is a huge weight off of the shoulders of the Canucks’ management. With this contract, they have locked in their potential starting goaltender for the next five years at a salary that is fairly cheap now and will only get cheaper as the contract ages.

In addition to locking up Lankinen at a cheap number, they also get a steady and capable goaltender who can help them reach great heights. Goaltending is hard to come by in this league and during the playoffs, a series usually comes down to which team has the better goaltender. Lankinen can be the goaltender who plays great for you in the playoffs and gives you a chance to win every night, which is exactly what all teams need. This season, he has shown that you can trust him in between the pipes. He will give your team a chance to win hockey games every night, and can stand on his head and win you a game you don’t deserve to win every once in a while.

This contract is a win for the Canucks and will pay off shortly. They have locked up a starting-calibre goaltender who gives you a chance to win every night, and he is locked up to a salary that is going to look amazing in a few years. A great deal by general manager Patrik Allvin and one that will help the Canucks win now.