After five seasons in the NHL, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen has found his long-term home. On Friday, the organization announced that they had agreed to a five-year extension with Lankinen, which will pay an average of $4.5M per year of the deal. This is Lankinen’s first long-term deal, something fully-earned after the 19 wins and four shutouts he has put up on the season, as well as his remarkably cool presence in the net when called upon during unexpected occasions. For Lankinen, however, this success doesn’t quite come as a surprise.
“I think for some of you guys, or some of the fans out there, it’s been a pleasant surprise, but for me, I’ve been preparing for this opportunity for a long time,” Lankinen said of his season so far. “I felt like in Nashville, I played behind a great goalie, one of the best goalies in the world, and maybe I didn’t have the playing time, but I felt like I had what it took. That’s why I left the familiar behind and wanted to find a new opportunity where I could showcase that.”
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Lankinen’s signing comes off of a 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that saw him earn the role of Finland’s starting goaltender by the team’s second game. It’s somewhat poetic, given the fact that he succeeded former goaltending tandem partner Juuse Saros in order to claim the role. He played a solid game against Team Sweden on February 15, making particularly keen saves during the extra frame.
“I think those opportunities are always great measuring sticks, to kind of see where the best of the best are,” he said of his experiences during the tournament. “Whether it’s this year in the playoffs or Olympics or whatever, you’ve kind of been there, done that.”
While both Lankinen’s camp and the Canucks are happy that his deal worked out, there was always the chance that neither could have connected with one-another. For starters, if Thatcher Demko had been healthy to start the season, it’s uncertain whether the team would have even gone after Lankinen in free agency or not. Lankinen, on the other hand, could have been proving himself as a starter on a completely different team.
“I think it was a conscious decision last summer to pass on a couple opportunities and look for the right one,” Lankinen explained. “It wasn’t about not having a job. It was more about finding the right fit. And I felt like, when we started talking with Vancouver, there was really something there. So I kind of left the safe and the familiar behind me and stepped into the unknown, and made sure that the preparations were there. Whatever opportunity shows up, I’m going to be ready for it. And we’re really, really excited about Vancouver and the team here, and how everything’s been going here the first five, six months. So it feels good to be here long term and to help the team win.”
Locking himself into a five-year deal gives Lankinen some extra space to focus on the “daily habits” rather than things such as where his next job will take him. “It’s not my job to put on labels or even decide who’s starting and who’s not. The only thing I can focus on is my work ethic, the habits that I put in, the preparation, the commitment, and everything else will follow.
“I'm just happy I’ve been able to showcase myself to the management and the coaches here, and obviously the people around the world that I can be a top goalie in this league.”
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