Canucks Insider Shares New Information Regarding Kevin Lankinen's Potential Contract Extension with Vancouver
Insider Rick Dhaliwal has shared some new information regarding Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen and a potential contract extension.
In August, the Vancouver Canucks were in a bit of a rush to try and find a goaltender either through trade or on the free agent market because Thatcher Demko wasn't going to be ready for training camp and the start of the 2024-25 season.
After speaking with Finnish netminder Kevin Lankinen for what felt like a couple of weeks, Patrik Allvin was able to get him under contract for one-year with a cap hit of $875,000 USD.
Lankinen has been lights out for the Vancouver Canucks this season and is playing much better than anyone could have predicted, leading to him setting a new National Hockey League record in early December after becoming the first goaltender to start a season 10-0-0 on the road.
Given how Kevin Lankinen has played, it would be a wise decision to sign him to a contract extension at some point soon, but there are multiple factors at play here, including the salary cap and if the team is willing to have Arturs Silovs in the AHL again next season.
Rick Dhaliwal shares new information regarding potential extension for Kevin Lankinen
During Monday's edition of Donnie & Dhali, NHL insider Rick Dhaliwal shared that sources have informed him that the Vancouver Canucks have talked to Kevin Lankinen's agent about a new deal.
He added, "But if you're Lankinen, there are factors to consider. We don't know the salary cap where it's going to go and by how much. How much more money will teams have to play with on July 1st.
If Demko keeps getting hurt, Lankinen's worth to the Canucks will be more and then there's this - if Lankinen keeps playing like he's playing, lights out, his price is just going to keep going up league-wide."
Dhaliwal went on to add that Kevin Lankinen's camp intend to be patient on the contract extension front.
Lankinen, a native of Helsinki, Finland, has appeared in 29 games where he has a 16-7-6 record along with a 2.51 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and four shutouts.
It would be smart from the Vancouver Canucks' point of view to get something done as soon as possible as they know what he brings to the team. But for Kevin Lankinen, it makes a lot of sense to wait things out, see what the salary cap will be for the 2025-26 season and then head into negotiations with a dollar future in mind based on how he's played.
