Lankinen wants to stay in Vancouver and Canucks are trying to re-sign him: report
The Vancouver Canucks appear to be talking to at least one of their pending free agents.
The team has reportedly made contact with Kevin Lankinen’s camp and are working to find a way to re-sign him.
“Both sides have expressed a mutual desire to extend the relationship past this year,” said NHL insider Pierre LeBrun on TSN today.Ā
The Canucks signed Lankinen during training camp, and he’s turned out to be one of the best offseason additions across the entire NHL. He’s got a 16-8-6 record, a 2.63 goals-against-average, and a .903 save percentage.
He also set the NHL record for most consecutive road victories to start a season and has been one of the Canucks’ MVPs, behind Quinn Hughes, so far this year.
His excellent play means his next contract will be worth far more than the $875,000 he’s making this season. There are a lot of goalie-hungry teams that will have taken notice of the Finnish netminder’s performance, especially considering how solid he’s been amongst so much turmoil in Vancouver.
LeBrun hypothesized Lankinen could ask for as much as $4 million per season on his next contract. Hockey consulting firm AFP Analytics projects $3.18 million for two seasons. Either way, he will get paid much more than he currently is.
The Canucks will need to weigh how valuable Lankinen is to the organization, especially considering it’s taking Thatcher Demko some time to return to form after what’s been nearly a full calendar year filled with injuries.
The team is projected to have roughly $15 million available next summer, assuming a salary cap jump to $92.5 million. They’ll also need to work on Brock Boeser and Pius Suter, who require new contracts, and any other additions they want to make.
After this season, Demko has one more year on his contract at $5 million. The San Diego native seemed destined to get a major raise, but his poor play and injury history have put that into doubt.
Demko has just three wins in 11 starts this season and, by his own admission, has not been good enough. If the Canucks are confident he can return to being a Vezina Trophy candidate, Lankinen’s raise can be spent elsewhere. However, if they’re looking for insurance, they may need to buck up the cash to keep Lankinen in the fold.