A safety net had been added by the Vancouver Canucks for their current predicament. General manager Patrik Allvin said on Saturday that goaltender Kevin Lankinen has joined the organisation on a one-year contract. The 2024–25 season’s cap hit on the deal is $875,000. Thatcher Demko, the Canucks’ top goalie, is out of commission for the near future, so this move is being seen as a safety precaution. While Demko’s rehabilitation is going well, he told the reporters on Thursday that he does not have a set comeback date.
As the two listed goalies on the NHL roster, Lankinen is now partnered with Arturs Silovs, the hero of last year’s Vancouver playoffs. If the teams hadn’t signed Lankinen, Silovs and Jiri Patera—who had played for the Vegas Golden Knights for the previous four seasons—might have been the combination the Canucks faced. Throughout his whole NHL career, Lankinen has been a dependable backup goalie. When the undrafted Finn signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in May 2018, he arrived in North America. After joining the squad in the Windy City for two seasons, he was added to the starting lineup for the 2020–21 campaign and made 69 appearances.
He became a supporting member of the Nashville Predators in July 2022, replacing Juuse Saros. Lankinen has one-year contracts for two seasons of play in Smashville. He played in 24 games in 2023–24 and finished with an 11–6–8 record, 2.82 goals against average,.908 save percentage, and one shutout. These results were just slightly lower than the HIFK product’s all-time highs from the 2022–2023 campaign. Lankinen had a record of 9-8-1, 2.75 GAA, and.916 SV during that season. The 29-year-old has participated in 112 NHL games over the course of four seasons, recording a record of 45-43-12, a 3.07 GAA, a.905 SV%, and three shutouts.
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