On Friday morning, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they had signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a five-year extension worth $22.5 million. The new contract will keep the Finnish goaltender in Vancouver until 2030 and will carry an AAV of $4.5 million. As for his age, Lankinen will be 30 when the contract kicks in and 35 when it concludes.
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In the press release, GM Patrik Allvin wrote, “Kevin has done a great job for us in net this season. Right from the start of the year, he has shown a strong desire to compete and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win hockey games. A good leader and teammate, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in right now without his strong play.”
Lankinen has been one of the Canucks MVPs this season. Through 34 games, he has a record of 19-8-7 and sits tied for second in the NHL with four shutouts. Earlier this season, Lankinen also set an NHL record by becoming the first goaltender in league history to go 10-0-0 in their first 10 road games of a season.
Thanks to his strong campaign, Lankinen was invited to play for Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He picked up Finland’s only win of the tournament, suiting up twice for his country. Lankinen is also projected to be part of Finland’s team next year at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
With Lankinen signed, Vancouver now has five goaltenders under contract for 2025-26. The five are Thatcher Demko, Artūrs Šilovs, Jiří Patera, Ty Young and Lankinen. The only goaltender currently not signed is Nikita Tolopilo, who is a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
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