The Vancouver Canucks have signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a one-year deal worth $870,000, general manager Patrik Allvin announced early Saturday afternoon.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with G Kevin Lankinen on a one-year contract worth $875K.
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 21, 2024
The Canucks have long been connected with Lankinen, and Vancouver hockey insider Rick Dhaliwal reported earlier in the day that their interest was “picking up.”
Lankinen, 29, posted an 11-6-0 record, one shutout, and a .908 save percentage in 24 games with the Nashville Predators during the 2023-24 regular season. The Helsinki, Finland product stands 6’2″ and weighs in at 190 pounds.
The Canucks have been in the market for an additional goaltender over the past few weeks amidst concerns about the health of both Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs. While Silovs looks to be mostly ready to go as the Canucks’ 2024-25 season opener looms, Demko’s status is far less certain, as the Vezina Trophy runner-up shared that he’s currently dealing with a “rare and unique” injury that doctors haven’t been able to provide a firm timeline for.
It became fairly evident early on in training camp that the Canucks wouldn’t be wise to enter the season with a tandem of only Arturs Silovs and Jiri Patera. PTO goaltender Dylan Ferguson was demoted to group C on Saturday, and that can’t bode well for Ferguson’s chances of earning a contract with the Canucks.
Through 112 career games over four seasons with the Blackhawks and Predators, Lankinen has put together a 45-43-12 record, three shutouts, and a .905 save percentage. The Finnish goaltender has worked with new Canucks goaltending coach Marko Torenius in the past.
The Canucks have four preseason games in five nights this week, beginning on Tuesday vs. Seattle and finishing on Saturday in Calgary. With a busy preseason schedule, the Canucks were going to want more than the goaltenders they had at camp heading into the preseason.
The Canucks’ regular season starts on October 9th when they take on the Calgary Flames at home.
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