Questions Emerging Over $22.5 Million Canucks Goalie Ahead of 2025-26 Season
Analyst Lachlan Irvine of Canucks Army looks at what a successful year for Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen, newly signed to a 5 year deal, would look like.
The Vancouver Canucks made their plans clear in goal, as they signed Kevin Lankinen to a 5 year contract after he surprised and impressed in his 1st year with the team.
They also traded Arturs Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins, signaling the end of his tenure with the team.
Per analyst Lachlan Irvine of Canucks Army, an ideal year for Lankinen is that he plays well enough as the ideal backup to starter Thatcher Demko and wins plenty of games for Vancouver.
Lankinen plays the 1B role to a tee; well enough to win a fair number of games for the Canucks, but not spectacularly enough to usurp Demko's spot as the number one goalie come playoff time. By all accounts, this is the most likely scenario out of all three, especially if everything goes the way the Canucks are expecting them to. Lankinen's own expectations are going to be higher, especially so soon after signing that five-year contract.
Lankinen won 25 games in his 1st year with the Canucks after being signed to a 1 year deal as an insurance policy.
Kevin Lankinen impressed in his 1st year with the Canucks
Because of the injury troubles to Demko and the unreliability of Silovs, the Canucks took a chance on Lankinen, who had played the previous year with the Nashville Predators.
Lankinen did more than he was ever expected to, taking over the de facto starting role in Vancouver and winning 25 games.
The Canucks recently signed him to a new 5 year extension, keeping him in Vancouver for the foreseeable future.
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