Confirmed with Link: Canucks Sign G Kevin Lankinen to 1y/0.875m Contract

[HelloCookie]

Woohoo, I love to have Finns in the team! Great deal for the canucks

 

[JT Milker]

For the longest time I thought he was Finnish like Jake Virtanen was Finnish.

No no, Virtanen is finished.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Solid goaltending depth is proving to be more and more important in an era where we have giant goalies constantly in danger of blowing out knees and hips.
Coaches are still very reticent to manage the work load of a goaltender who has a hot hand.
Hopefully, last year showed Tocchet and Allvin that they need to ease off a bit on Demko. And they can do so by having some reliable options that they aren't afraid to play.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

No no, Virtanen is finished.

Legend has it that if you say "Jake Virtanen" three times in front of a mirror in a candel lit room, you can hear him turning a corner somewhere in midtier hockey in Europe.

 

[ziploc]

Solid goaltending depth is proving to be more and more important in an era where we have giant goalies constantly in danger of blowing out knees and hips.
Coaches are still very reticent to manage the work load of a goaltender who has a hot hand.
Hopefully, last year showed Tocchet and Allvin that they need to ease off a bit on Demko. And they can do so by having some reliable options that they aren't afraid to play.

DeSmith had a good year last year, barring a couple stinkers. He started 27 games but a good chunk of that was once Demko was already hurt. I expect Lankinen to be better than DeSmith, but hope he is given a healthy run of games even when Demko is back to full strength. Between Lanky and Silly I'd like to see them start 35-40 regular season games at least.

 

[TruGr1t]

DeSmith had a good year last year, barring a couple stinkers. He started 27 games but a good chunk of that was once Demko was already hurt. I expect Lankinen to be better than DeSmith, but hope he is given a healthy run of games even when Demko is back to full strength. Between Lanky and Silly I'd like to see them start 35-40 regular season games at least.

DeSmith and Lankinen had pretty comparable statistical years, actually. I’d say they are similar in terms of being reliable backup types, but obviously Lankinen is materially younger.

Clearly prefer to have Lankinen on this contract versus DeSmith’s AAV and term.

 

[Vector]

 

[I Hart Conor Garland]

Hey. It ain't nothing.

 

[LordBacon]

Overpriced and too much term.

 

[MS]

Over-depth signing which basically means we’ll get a free 3rd round pick from a desperate team in a month when Demko returns, either by trading Lankinen or Silovs.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

Well, there goes the Canucks' $191,000 in cap space. I guess they'll have to operate off of LTIR again, once Poolman is placed on this list before the first game of the season.

Too bad in some ways. Even operating a couple of hundred grand below the cap threshold carries advantages in the regular season.....because the cap space builds up cumulatively. But realistically, the Canucks had little choice.

As good as he was in the playoffs, there's no way you want to go into the regular season with a rookie goaltender in Silovs, who's only played 20 games in the NHL. And if Demko were to end up on LTIR to start the season, then that creates a chunk of cap space.

Only until Demko is ready, at which point they send Silovs down, or am I missing something?

 

[F A N]

DeSmith and Lankinen had pretty comparable statistical years, actually. I’d say they are similar in terms of being reliable backup types, but obviously Lankinen is materially younger.

Clearly prefer to have Lankinen on this contract versus DeSmith’s AAV and term.

I have been critical of DeSmith more than most here, but I think DeSmith's stats were worse than Lankinen's last year.

I've said this before. The ideal backup goalie can come in cold after sitting out a while and give the team a good start and be able to handle somewhere between 8-15 consecutive start / games as the #1 should the #1 goalie be injured. This is separate from a 1A/1B type who you can rely upon to split starts.

I feel that DeSmith had a good start here (as did the rest of the team) and he fulfilled the duty of playing well and giving Demko a scheduled rest. He played poorly when he was tasked with filling in as the #1 until Demko returned. This also isn't a fluke. DeSmith had similar failings in Pittsburgh. He's not a 1A/1B guy and can't be relied upon to fill in as a starter for a significant period of time.

I actually think DeSmith is a bit better in coming in cold and giving the #1 a scheduled rest but Lankinen is better if you need a goalie to carry the load for a bit.

I suppose that we have liked Kevin for a while. We wanted Kevin when we signed Collin two years ago.

 

[tantalum]

Over-depth signing which basically means we’ll get a free 3rd round pick from a desperate team in a month when Demko returns, either by trading Lankinen or Silovs.

I'm not sure about that they will trade anyone. (1) there is always the likelihood that one of the goaltenders is hurt on any given day and (2) I think the plan is to get Silovs a lot of game action and I believe he is waiver exempt. I think they want to get him to 50 games this year. He did a competent job in the playoffs but ultimately he still needs a lot of seasoning. That is only going to come with minutes.

 

[M2Beezy]

Didnt want to pay over $800,000 for this guy. What a disaster this is

 

[smytty]

Over-depth signing which basically means we’ll get a free 3rd round pick from a desperate team in a month when Demko returns, either by trading Lankinen or Silovs.

Only if you include a 4th

 

[VanJack]

Thanks to Kevin Woodly, we now know exactly what the injury is to Demko and which muscle behind the knee is affected. But having said that, it's still clear as mud when the injury might actually heal. Sounds to me like like the Canucks won't be counting on him to start the season--hence the Lankinen signing.

The only issue is what happens if and when, Demko is 100 percent. They currently have five goalies, three at the NHL-level and two guys in Abbotsford. And of course Ty Young makes it 'six'.....but I suppose he could start the year in Kalamazoo. Still, that's at least one goalie too many. Can't believe the Canucks would carry three goalies on the NHL roster for very long.

 

[TruGr1t]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838326542541427080

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Thanks to Kevin Woodly, we now know exactly what the injury is to Demko and which muscle behind the knee is affected. But having said that, it's still clear as mud when the injury might actually heal. Sounds to me like like the Canucks won't be counting on him to start the season--hence the Lankinen signing.

The only issue is what happens if and when, Demko is 100 percent. They currently have five goalies, three at the NHL-level and two guys in Abbotsford. And of course Ty Young makes it 'six'.....but I suppose he could start the year in Kalamazoo. Still, that's at least one goalie too many. Can't believe the Canucks would carry three goalies on the NHL roster for very long.

I missed this.

What did he say?

 

[Nucker101]

I missed this.

What did he say?

He confirmed the Chat GPT diagnosis

Popliteus

 

[David71]

if demko isnt ready 100 percent for a few months. run with lankienen/silovs. whoever gets on a hot run gets most of the starts until they pull a stinker or is tired.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

He confirmed the Chat GPT diagnosis

Popliteus

I love this.

Chat GPT is our overlord now.

 

[F A N]

I'm not sure about that they will trade anyone. (1) there is always the likelihood that one of the goaltenders is hurt on any given day and (2) I think the plan is to get Silovs a lot of game action and I believe he is waiver exempt. I think they want to get him to 50 games this year. He did a competent job in the playoffs but ultimately he still needs a lot of seasoning. That is only going to come with minutes.

I wonder if Silovs' camp will push for an NHL position like Demko did. Similar circumstances: 23 years old, two AHL seasons, Demko put up great numbers in the AHL while Silovs faced NHL playoff competition.

 

[tantalum]

I wonder if Silovs' camp will push for an NHL position like Demko did. Similar circumstances: 23 years old, two AHL seasons, Demko put up great numbers in the AHL while Silovs faced NHL playoff competition.

They might. Though, I expect the organization would make an argument that they don't want to guarantee him a NHL job for the entire year as that may not be the best for his development. He needs game time. His AHL numbers have been fine but not dominant or anything.

However, I think we know that at least for the start of the season he is going to be in the NHL. And he will likely be given the chance to compete with Lankinen to see who will be carrying the bulk of the load while Demko is out.

 

[TruGr1t]

I wonder if Silovs' camp will push for an NHL position like Demko did. Similar circumstances: 23 years old, two AHL seasons, Demko put up great numbers in the AHL while Silovs faced NHL playoff competition.

I think this is an odd position for him to take, honestly. His numbers are just not that good. Yes, he won some playoff games behind basically an elite defensive team, but he hasn't posted anything resembling a track record to "demand" NHL games. Comparing him to Demko is somewhat laughable at this stage, who posted a .922 SV% over 46 AHL games before he made the show. He can certainly earn them if he comes in and plays well enough, but there's no reason to keep him in the NHL just because he wants it.

 

[Vector]