Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Vancouver will be signing Kevin Lankinen to a one-year deal for “under $1M…they need some insurance and he provides it.” This news comes not long after Rick Dhaliwal tweeted, “Update today : I believe the Canucks interest in Lankinen is picking up!”
The Canucks have been looking for goaltending help for weeks. Knowing that Thatcher Demko‘s status is uncertain and Arturs Silovs is ready, but also relatively inexperienced, the Canucks needed some insurance in goal.
Dhaliwal went into a bit of a rant this week about how much the Canucks overplayed Demko and it wound up resulting in the odd injury he is now dealing with. The team couldn’t make the same mistake again this season.
Lankinen is a former Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators goaltender. Dhaliwal was a bit surprised the Canucks were pursuing this so hard considering the cost. While it was a freebie because it cost no assets to acquire him, at the time, Dhaliwal felt the deal might cost more than $1 million and that Vancouver was offering less than that. Dhaliwal said that Lankinen might have been waiting for the offer to jump before signing, with reports having already surfaced that he turned down a different offer a few weeks ago.
Lankinen had solid numbers the past two seasons, so this is probably a smart bet by Vancouver. In 19 games during the 2022-23 season, he posted a .916 save percentage. In 2023-24, he posted a .908 save percentage, in both seasons with the Predators.
At this point, the Canucks now have their insurance and what they do now will be intriguing. This deal puts them over the salary cap with 23/23 contracts signed for the season.
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