On Friday, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they had signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a five-year $22.5 million contract extension. The 29-year-old has been superb for the Canucks this season, accounting for 19 of their 26 wins. With Lankinen now signed long-term, Vancouver is an interesting spot and will now need to make some tough decisions surrounding their other goaltenders.
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Based on the current roster construction for 2025-26, the Canucks are spending $9.5 million on Thatcher Demko and Lankinen. That is approximately 10% of the team’s cap space for next season. While not every goaltending situation is sorted out for next season, allocating 10% of the cap to goaltenders would make Vancouver’s tandem one of the top ten most expensive in the NHL.
The decision to sign Lankinen long-term does raise some questions. The first concerns Demko, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season. The 29-year-old has spent his entire career with the Canucks, but has missed significant time over the past few seasons with a multitude of injuries.
While Demko is arguably one of the best goaltenders in the world, his injury history has become very concerning. He has only played 17 games this season and will miss Vancouver’s upcoming five-game road trip with a lower-body injury. If the Canucks are going to make a long-term investment in Demko, having a steady option like Lankinen is a good option, especially if injury concerns limit how many games he can play every season.
The new contract extension also impacts Artūrs Šilovs, who is on the verge of jumping to the NHL full-time. With Demko and Lankinen now signed for next season, the 23-year-old is blocked from getting NHL games unless an injury occurs. While Šilovs has struggled this season in the NHL, he is at the point of his career where he needs to be making a push to become the Canucks backup rather than playing another season in the AHL.
While the future is unknown, it is easy to see why Vancouver decided to invest long-term in Lankinen. Despite only being with the organization for a few months, he has been one of the Canucks best players this season and is a big reason why they find currently find themselves in a playoff spot. While every long-term contract does carry risks, having Lankinen signed to an AAV of $4.5 million for the next five seasons is a win for the organization.
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