Best Landing Spots for Kevin Lankinen Ahead of NHL Training Camp

The Nashville Predators cut goaltender Kevin Lankinen this summer. The Predators signed goaltender Scott Wedgewood in NHL Free Agency to replace him. Wedgewood will back up the recently extended Juuse Saros, as will Lankinen in 2023-24. However, as training camp approaches, Lankinen remains without a contract.

It’s a bit surprising that the 29-year-old is still on the open market. He’s played parts of four NHL seasons so far. And in that time, he’s put together a solid record. Lankinen has posted a save percentage above .905 in three of those four seasons. His best showing came in 2022-23, when he posted a .916 save percentage in 19 games.

Lankinen is not a regular starting goalie. But the Helsinki, Finland native could certainly be valuable as a backup goalie. With that in mind, here are two teams that could sign Kevin Lankinen at the end of NHL free agency.

Kevin Lankinen makes sense for the Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks had a very successful 2023-24 campaign. They won the Pacific Division despite being expected to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs altogether. And the Canucks were one game away from the 2024 Western Conference Finals. That raised expectations for the team.

One thing that could certainly derail the Canucks is injury concerns. Goaltender Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against Kevin Lankinen and the Nashville Predators. Additionally, Casey DeSmith has been struggling with an injury during that first round.

Those injury concerns could resurface for the team. Although DeSmith left the Canucks, Demko’s status remains uncertain. Additionally, goaltender Arturs Silvos injured his knee before playing for the Latvian national team in the Olympic qualifiers.

There’s no telling when Silvos and Demko will be back to full health. As a result, adding depth in goal could be beneficial for Vancouver, especially since the team lacks NHL options between the posts. Lankinen could give the Canucks a much-needed safety net in the event of injuries this season.

Lightning could be an option

The Tampa Bay Lightning were without star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the first two months of the 2023-24 season. 28-year-old goalie Jonas Johansson stepped in to fill the void and did a decent job. Overall, he had a subpar season. Johansson finished the 2023-24 season with an .890 save percentage in 26 games.

Overall, that would be fine if Vasilevskiy were playing to his Vezina Trophy-caliber standards. But that wasn’t the case. The Lightning’s star goalie finished the 2023-24 campaign with a flat .900 save percentage, his worst save percentage since 2015-16.

The Lightning did not sign a goalie in NHL Free Agency this summer. And their options for NHL-caliber goalies are pretty limited. Matt Tompkins played in the NHL last season. But he has just six career games under his belt.

The Lightning could add an experienced option behind Vasilevskiy. That could require some financial maneuvering, even if Kevin Lankinen doesn’t cost them an arm and a leg. Tampa Bay has less than $750,000 in available cap space, according to Puck Pedia.

In any case, Lankinen is a solid option to compete with Johansson for the backup spot. It’s a low-risk move for the Lightning ahead of training camp. It provides insurance in case Vasilevskiy doesn’t return to form. And if Vasilevskiy does return, Lankinen could help form one of the better goaltending duos in the NHL.