When Kevin Lankinen agreed his contract with the Vancouver Canucks back in September prior to the 2024-25 season, he had to make an unwanted financial concession. Projected by AFP Analytics to be in line for a two-year, $4.048 million deal, he instead signed for just one year and $875k.
Since the season started however, Lankinen has improved his position significantly, at times looking like the deal of the century and effectively keeping the Canucks' playoff hopes alive while the team is engulfed in chaos and adversity. This includes at the goaltender position specifically, with Artūrs Šilovs taking a major step back in his development, while Thatcher Demko took longer than expected to return from his unique hockey injury and has looked little like his Vezina-challenging level from last season.
In the meantime, Lankinen is on course to have a career year in a whole host of categories, including starts, wins, quality starts and Goals Against Average. Heck he even found time to set an NHL record, by becoming the first ever goalie to start a season with 10 consecutive road wins.
The Canucks want Kevin Lankinen back next season
As a result, it should really come as no surprise that the Canucks are eager to get him re-signed as soon as possible. As per Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription required), the team has reportedly being negotiating a contract extension with Lankinen and his agent Todd Diamond, which he first became eligible for on Jan. 1.
The irony in this though is that the shoe (skate) is now on the other foot, with Lankinen more in control. While the Cancucks are eager to get him tied up to a new deal, Drance claims that the goalie wants to get a better idea of what the overall salary cap number will be for next season, which makes sense given the recent speculation about it potentially jumping up to as much as $7 million to $9 million.
In this respect, AFP Analytics do figure the 29-year-old will make out well with his next deal, currently projecting him to get two years and just under $6.357 million. Now yes we know they got it wrong with his previous projection, but this time around it seems safer to assume he will earn the most lucrative contract of his NHL career so far.
Of course, there is every possibility that the two sides won't actually reach an agreement on a new deal. You can also make the argument that Lankinen is taking a gamble in estimating how much he is worth, when considering his productivity has declined of late. (Not that any player is immune to bouts of inconsistency.)
Overall though, we have confidence that the Canucks and Lankinen's camp will be able to come to a resolution which is mutually beneficial. Just don't make the mistake of thinking the organisation once more holds the upper hand over the Finland native, with them desperate to find some stability between the pipes.