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

[VanJack]

Obviously there's no way of knowing if Lankinen can maintain the pace he's currently on through an extended schedule. After all, in his four year career, he's been strictly a backup. In fact 37 games is the most he's ever played in an NHL season, and that was in his first year in Chicago.

But one skill he possesses in spades is puck-handling. It's uncanny how he can go behind his own net and stop those rim-arounds.

It's impossible to overstate how critical it is to your d-men to have a quality puck-handling goalie back there. It's almost like having an extra d-man out on every shift. For years now the Canucks blueline has been seriously vulnerable to a hard forecheck.

But Lankinen is not just stopping the puck right now.....his puck-handling is making a huge difference.

 

[biturbo19]

The whole think with the Lankinen signing was that...a lot of worse goaltenders signed on earlier than he did. He waited and bet on himself. It seems to be panning out. He's looked great playing behind a good team with good coaching and structure, and good goalie coaching to hone the details.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

It's impossible to overstate how critical it is to your d-men to have a quality puck-handling goalie back there. It's almost like having an extra d-man out on every shift. For years now the Canucks blueline has been seriously vulnerable to a hard forecheck.

But Lankinen is not just stopping the puck right now.....his puck-handling is making a huge difference.

man, when’s the last time we had a goalie who could handle the puck worth a damn? felix potvin?

 

[F A N]

It's impossible to overstate how critical it is to your d-men to have a quality puck-handling goalie back there. It's almost like having an extra d-man out on every shift. For years now the Canucks blueline has been seriously vulnerable to a hard forecheck.

Mike Milbury is that you? Seriously though, a good puck handling goalie is good to have but I think the importance definitely can be overstated.

man, when’s the last time we had a goalie who could handle the puck worth a damn? felix potvin?

Johan Hedberg?

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

We aren't gonna be able to afford him next year lmao.

 

[GreatSaveLuongo]

Ride the hot hand

 

[Regal]

Obviously there's no way of knowing if Lankinen can maintain the pace he's currently on through an extended schedule. After all, in his four year career, he's been strictly a backup. In fact 37 games is the most he's ever played in an NHL season, and that was in his first year in Chicago.

To be fair his rookie year was the Covid season, so he was the starter that year, playing 37 of 56 games (equivalent to 54 in 82). Obviously not quite the same as a full season, but he managed to play well despite the starters workload rather than in just spot starts. Though he was really bad the following year.

 

[PavelBure10]

0.875 is a extreme bargain for the caliber of hockey Lankinen has shown thus far this season. What a pickup.

 

[Jyrki21]

0.875 is a extreme bargain for the caliber of hockey Lankinen has shown thus far this season. What a pickup.

I wonder how many goalies in the league have a salary lower than their SPCT like that.

 

[VanJack]

I'm coming to the conclusion that when comes to goaltenders, a lot of NHL GM's are completely clueless.

A guy like Talbot or Kuemper gets chance after chance......and a goalie like Lankinen languishes on the UFA board all summer, and then has to settle for a 'league minimum' contract from the Canucks.

With Demko's return still a mystery, Lankinen might be the 'UFA signing of the year' in the NHL. One thing's for certain. Lankinen is a UFA again this summer. And finally, he'll get seriously paid somewhere.

 

[Grip it N RYP it]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849222153557938493

 

[BWJM]

Anyone remember a guy by the name of Casey DeSmith? Can’t seem to remember why his name is familiar.

 

[Cogburn]

This might be Allvin's worst contract.




...../s if it wasn't blatently obvious.

 

[F A N]

I'm coming to the conclusion that when comes to goaltenders, a lot of NHL GM's are completely clueless.

A guy like Talbot or Kuemper gets chance after chance......and a goalie like Lankinen languishes on the UFA board all summer, and then has to settle for a 'league minimum' contract from the Canucks.

I don't disagree about the clueless part but Talbot has been a competent goalie/average starter over the years and he has been moved around. He has certainly earned his opportunities and the contracts that he has signed have been very reasonable. Kuemper won a Cup and then declined after signing his current contract. He was then traded to LA in a trade where LA was looking to dump PLD. I wouldn't say Kuemper has gotten chance after chance if you consider the circumstances such as the fact that he is under contract for 2 more years after this one and buying him out is a bit cost prohibitive. There's not a whole lot of savings if you were to buy him out and try and find a backup who is better with the savings.

 

[LordBacon]

This might be Allvin's worst contract.




...../s if it wasn't blatently obvious.

Guys this is rage bait don’t reply

 

[EpochLink]

Anyone remember a guy by the name of Casey DeSmith? Can’t seem to remember why his name is familiar.

I refer to him as 'can't see the damn shit' as he was puck watching most of the time.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Still hard to believe we got Lankinen for dirt cheap so late in the summer. So many other teams often scrambling for quality goaltending, and there he was.

 

[Jyrki21]

Lanky Boy Inen is the real deal.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Lankinen is just the latest example of why you shouldn't overpay for goaltending.

Looks better than a lot of the starters out there so far.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

What happens when Demko returns? 3 capable goalies and it wouldn't be right to send either Lankinen or Silovs down.

 

[Jyrki21]

What happens when Demko returns? 3 capable goalies and it wouldn't be right to send either Lankinen or Silovs down.

Well if Demko can stay in the lineup -- and that's a big if -- it's an easy call to send down Šilovs both because he's waiver exempt, and because he needs to play. (And because barring a dramatic turnaround by either guy, he will likely be behind Lankinen play-wise).

 

[Peter Griffin]

What happens when Demko returns? 3 capable goalies and it wouldn't be right to send either Lankinen or Silovs down.

Why wouldn’t it be right to send Silovs down? That’s where he currently belongs.

 

[VanJack]

So far, Lankinen has to be one of the 'bargain contracts of the year' in the NHL.

I mean, when all the 'experts' and 'pundits' learned that Demko would likely miss at least the first month of the season, they immediately tagged the Canucks as their 'regression candidate' in the Western Conference.

And I suppose in one sense you could hardly blame them for bailing on Vancouver. But Lankinen has so far given the Canucks the best goaltending they could possibly have expected, and it's the biggest reason they've only lost one game in regulation so far.

 

[Bougieman]

The pundits and experts love to announce their picks for best offseason acquisitions but thus far I haven't seen anyone outside of the Vancouver market really pick up on how good this one has been. Once one of the more repeated ones does, most of them will, but thus far I haven't heard much. Just the local media thus far. Maybe they're all assuming he's just hot at the moment and is going to crash and regress hard or something? I mean, he might.... but so far I don't see it. His fundamentals seem really really good. It really feels like this might be his breakout season? Like he was just waiting for a team to bank on him, to rely on him.

 

[mossey3535]

I'm coming to the conclusion that when comes to goaltenders, a lot of NHL GM's are completely clueless.

A guy like Talbot or Kuemper gets chance after chance......and a goalie like Lankinen languishes on the UFA board all summer, and then has to settle for a 'league minimum' contract from the Canucks.

With Demko's return still a mystery, Lankinen might be the 'UFA signing of the year' in the NHL. One thing's for certain. Lankinen is a UFA again this summer. And finally, he'll get seriously paid somewhere.

It's a bit weird, traditionally GM's have bet on youngish goalies who have put up good numbers as a backup. This despite generally flattering stats for backup goalies because of lack of scouting, pressure, or fatigue.

The example that comes to mind is the year teams bet on Lack, Talbot, and Jones after they had all played relatively few games for two seasons in a row but had promising numbers.

I feel like Lankinens history falls just a bit behind those situations. He's 29 which is maybe a factor but those guys were 25, 27, and 28 at the time. So not that far apart in age. Talbot I'd argue had the best and most consistent track record prior to the trades, and after. But all of them had ups and downs.