Where would the Vancouver Canucks be this season without backup, or should I say starter, Kevin Lankinen? Lankinen, a winner of three straight starts, has won all but one game for the Canucks this season.
In his 16 appearances, Lankinen has an 11-3-2 record, a 2.57 GAA, two shutouts, and a .909 save percentage. For further context, Lankinen was 11-6-0 for the Nashville Predators last season with a 2.82 GAA, one shutout, and a .908 save percentage. Not only has the Finn been consistent, but he has been good, too.
It's not hard to make an argument for Kevin Lankinen being the best signing of the NHL offseason
— Dan Riccio (@danriccio_) November 29, 2024
Impressively, Lankinen has an undefeated streak going correlated to his save percentage. When Lankinen records a save percentage of .900 or greater, the Canucks are 9-0-1. When Lankinen starts and his save percentage is below .900, the Canucks are 2-3-1.
Of course, good goaltending is correlated with good results, but the Canucks have not done a whole lot when Lankinen plays poorly or when the struggling Arturs Silovs starts a game. This is a good problem to have if and when Thatcher Demko returns to the ice.
Kevin Lankinen is NHL's most valuable offseason addition
When it comes to value, it is hard to beat what Lankinen brings to the Canucks relative to his salary and expectations. The 29-year-old signed a one-year, $875k contract with the Canucks this offseason and had to wait until Sept. 21 to do so. All things considered, that is pretty late into the offseason for a player of Lankinen's skill and experience to receive an offer he deems agreeable.
For the sake of comparison, we know that former Canucks players Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov were not good value signings, and especially not for the struggling Boston Bruins. Neither was Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos, who signed a massive four-year, $32 million contract with the horrendous Predators.
Oh, and the Predators signed defenseman Brady Skjei to a seven-year, $49 million contract. Those two teams are probably going to be bad-to-average for a long time. As for the Canucks? They got a borderline starting-caliber goalie for pennies on the dollar. Kudos to general manager Patrik Allvin for locking onto Lankinen early.