A recent move by the Vancouver Canucks has left some groggy about what the future beholds for the team.
Last week, the team signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a five-year contract extension. The deal, set to kick in next season, carries an AAV of $4.5 million through the 2029-30 campaign.
Lankinen is currently on a one-year deal that he signed with the Canucks this past September, which only has a cap hit of $875,000. The move to bring in the Finnish netminder was seemingly made to fill the void while fellow goaltender Thatcher Demko recovered from the knee injury he suffered during last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, that hasn’t entirely gone to plan in Vancouver.
Lankinen has taken over the top job thanks to his stellar play with the Canucks this season, paired with Demko’s bumpy performance since returning to action. In 35 games, Lankinen has a record of 19-9-7 with a 2.52 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage and four shutouts.
For comparison, Demko is 6-6-3 with a 2.87 GAA, a .891 SV% and one shutout.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss what Lankinen’s contract extension means for Demko in the near future.
Frank Seravalli: I think you only hand out a contract like that if you have an indication that things are going sideways, either by injury or by pure change of scenery. You asked me on the DFO Rundown this morning, “Will Thatcher Demko be a Vancouver Canuck next season?” My answer was no, but there’s a lot that would need to play out. He does have a not-so-inexpensive deal that stretches into next season. Someone’s going to have to figure out is it worth buying on Thatcher Demko, given what we’ve seen with the injury history.