“Kevin has done a great job for us in net this season,” said General Manager Patrik Allvin in a press release. “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 met with the media to discuss the new contract and talk about why re-signing with the Canucks made the most sense for him.
“It feels great. Obviously, it is a good reward for all the hard work I have put in ever since I started playing hockey when I was three years old. I’m really grateful for the commitment and the trust from the management and how they put faith in me, not just for this year, but the years to come,” said Lankinen. “I’m really fortunate to be here in Vancouver with this great team, the guys in the locker room and great coaching staff, and obviously the city of Vancouver itself, which is a really unique place to live in, so I’m excited.”
The average annual value of the contract extension is $4.5 million, and the five-year term is the most significant contract of his NHL career.
“It’s obviously great because it releases energy to focus on the right things. You don’t have to worry about housing and a contract for a little bit here. So, you can actually put some more energy into the thing that matters most, which is the daily habits and helping the team win. So, I feel like it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders, and I can just be able to focus on the most important thing.”
Lankinen is 19-8-7 in his first year with the Canucks and has a 2.53 goals-against average, .905% save percentage, and has four shutouts through 32 starts. The 29-year-old Finnish netminder has made 133 starts over his five-year NHL career and just represented Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“I’ve been preparing for this opportunity for a long time, and I felt like in Nashville, I played behind a great goalie, one of the best goalies in the world, and I maybe didn’t have the playing time, but I felt like I had what it took, and that’s why I kind of left the familiar behind and wanted to find a new opportunity where I could showcase that,” said Lankinen.
“The trust and the faith in myself has always been there, so it’s not like I’m surprised in any way. I’m just happy that I’ve been able to showcase myself to management, the coaches here and obviously the people around the world that I can be a top goalie in this league.”
The Canucks are back in action following the 4 Nations Face-Off break and have back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday against Vegas and Utah. This weekend kicks off a five-game homestand before the team returns to Rogers Arena on Wednesday, March 5th.
