A completely unexpected name surfaces into Vancouver Canucks trade discussions
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The Vancouver Canucks haven’t really explored the trade possibilities of a goaltender until recently, Nikita Tolopilo has emerged as great option for the future of the team, meaning Kevin Lankinen can be used for trade.
“One player that has been mentioned as a potential trade chip for the Vancouver Canucks is Finnish netminder Kevin Lankinen, who is in the first year of a five-year contract worth $4.5 million USD annually. Despite his name popping up in the rumor mill briefly, Kevin Lankinen has stepped up in a big way at various points this season when the Vancouver Canucks desperately needed him to.”-Jaxon
Kevin Lankinen could bring Vancouver Canucks big returns.
Stephan Roget of Canucks Army reported on the possibility of Lankinen being dealt before the trade deadline this year. He has proved he can be a very capable backup for teams, and the quantity of good goaltenders has lowered in recent years, compared to ten years ago. Teams are having a hard time finding two NHL caliber goalies, let alone one. Which is why it could be good and bad for the Canucks.
“To trade Lankinen now would entail Tolopilo taking over as the undisputed starter right away, to be backed up by someone like Ty Young or Jiri Patera, which is less than ideal, even for a team trying to tank. It seems like a guaranteed recipe to harm Tolopilo’s confidence. Were the Canucks to pick up another veteran backup in the transaction, or perhaps pluck one of their own from the waiver wire, that might be a different scenario. But it still might not be the best time to be moving Lankinen.”-Roget
However if you were to accept the fact that the rest of the season might be even worse than it is now, it is doable. Because next season you’re likely going to have Tolopilo and Thatcher Demko as your tandem. So if Lankinen can bring back some good value in a trade, it might be worth losing even more games this season to accelerate the rebuild.
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A completely unexpected name surfaces into Vancouver Canucks trade discussions
Should the Vancouver Canucks trade goaltender Kevin Lankinen to help the rebuild?