*Photo from NBC Sports*
Needing another goalie to round out the roster, the Nashville Predators went north. The Predators and G Kevin Lankinen have agreed to a one year, $1.5 million deal, according to an announcement by the Predators.
Lankinen originally broke into the pros when he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on an entry level deal prior to the 2018-2019 season out of Finland. He played in the ECHL with the Indy Fuel and the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs. He made his NHL debut in the short 2021 season, and posted mostly solid numbers in two seasons.
The last contract Lankinen was playing on was a two year deal worth $1.6 million, with an $800,000 AAV. Now, signing his 3rd professional contract, Lankinen gets a pay raise to $1.5 million annually, and is an upgrade at backup goalie as the Predators look to make a run.
Last season with the Blackhawks, Lankinen ended the regular season with a 8-15-6 record, posting a 3.50 GAA and .891 save percentage, adding 12 quality starts in 29 starts and 3 relief appearances, serving as a backup to Marc-Andre Fleury before he was traded at the trade deadline, with Lankinen becoming the starter after that.
In his NHL career, spanning two seasons with the Blackhawks, Lankinen has a 25-29-11 record with a 3.23 GAA and .901 save percentage, recording 31 quality starts and two shutouts in in 66 career starts and 3 relief appearances, adding in 3 assists on the scoresheet in his career.
Lankinen has strong numbers playing overseas as well. He played 4 seasons with Finland's Liiga from 2014 to 2018, finishing in second place in 2015-2016 and 3rd in 2016-2017 with HIFK Helsinki. He was also a part of Finland's 2019 IIHF World Championship team, winning the gold medal on the back of a 7-1 record with a .942 save percentage and 1.50 GAA, the best mark of goalies in the tournament.
The signing of Lankinen makes him the backup goalie to Juuse Saros after letting David Rittich go in free agency. It also marks another move in a busy offseason for the Predators, who brought back Filip Forsberg and Jeremy Lauzon, and brought in Nino Niederreiter and Ryan McDonagh.
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