It was the point in Kevin Lankinen’s career where he had to bet on himself. While it wasn’t looking good for him all summer after doing so, it ended up working out and the risk is paying off now.
Lankinen spent the last two seasons with the Nashville Predators as the backup to Juuse Saros. This only allowed Lankinen to see 35 starts and 43 games. That is what happens when a team has an elite goalie that can play at a high level for more than 60 games per season.
For a 29-year-old who is in his prime and had played well for a few seasons, it was time for him to see if he could earn a starting role or at least a 50-50 role somewhere in the NHL. With Saros just signing an eight-year deal, there was no opportunity to be anything more than what he had been for two seasons if he re-signed in Nashville.
Lankinen waited for the right contract to come his way, which was even more of a risk. It took until September 21 for him to join the Vancouver Canucks and it may have been the best decision and best opportunity he could have this season.
Over the past two seasons, Lankinen started just 21% of games his team played. Through 11 games with the Canucks, he has started 72% of games. Goaltending became a dire need for the Canucks when Thatcher Demko, the starter, wasn’t expected to start the season. Vancouver couldn’t let goaltending be what held them back and not only signed Lankinen for the season, but gave him an eight-team no-trade list on his contract.
Demko’s situation is murky and he still isn’t back from what he’s dealing with. While he remains out, Lankinen has a tight grip on the starter’s net in Vancouver over Arturs Silovs.
Related: Podcast: Nashville Predators Concern Meter
Lankinen is 6-0-2 on the season with a 2.09 GAA, .923 SV%, and one shutouts. Silovs is 0-2-1 with a 5.00 GAA and .797 SV%. It appears that Silovs is not ready for his role and the playoffs might’ve been a flash in the pan while Lankinen is seasoned and very determined after betting on himself.
If Demko comes back, Lankinen will most definitely stay as the backup and will have easily earned more starts in Vancouver than he had in each of the past two seasons with the Predators. If Demko doesn’t return or hardly plays any games this season, it’s Lankinen’s net for the season and he will have not only proved he can be a successful starter in the NHL, but deserves more money and term on his next deal wherever it may be.
There are always teams looking for capable goaltending and all Lankinen needed was the chance to prove that he is a solid NHL goalie. Nashville would’ve liked to keep him around as the backup because of the great work he did, but he wasn’t being contained to a backup role for the rest of his career.
Visit The Hockey News Nashville Predators team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, podcasts and more.
Recent Predators News
Nashville Predators Need Major Forward Line Changes
Nashville Predators Stifled by Los Angeles Kings in 3-0 Shutout Loss
