Canucks: Why unflappable Finn Kevin Lankinen could net gold again.

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It must be a Finnish thing.

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Kevin Lankinen was looking remarkably refreshed and relaxed while leaning back in his Vancouver Canucks locker-room stall following a recent gruelling practice at Rogers Arena.

He had that look. Like he didn’t have a care in the world. Even amid uncertainty of when he would get the net again as Thatcher Demko gathered his game before being injured Saturday, his body language and tone have always exuded inner peace and confidence.

After all, this is a reader of books, a grateful Finnish export who has a different look on the world.

“They say we’re the happiest county in the world,” chuckled Lankinen. “We’re lucky. We come from good circumstances and we’re really thankful with the environment we grow up in. Good social structure and health care and a network to rely on.

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“Good opportunity to grow as a good human being. We’re so far up north and isolated. You learn how to handle stuff and take care of things by yourself and not rely on anybody too much. It’s part of the mentality of Finnish people.”

When the unflappable and fun-loving goaltender was reminded there are now more Swedes in the room — five on this particular day with trade additions and the recall of centre Nils Aman — he simply smiled.

Lankinen, 29, knows an often bitter rivalry with Sweden will be rekindled when the countries clash at the 4-Nations Face-Off on Saturday in Montreal. He also knows not to sweat the small stuff. In a three-way battle to get the starting nod, his current numbers are superior and so is his international history.

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‘We were like rock stars for a week’

In Lankinen’s only previous call from Finland, the Helsinki native backstopped his country to a stunning gold-medal performance at the 2019 world hockey championship.

He made 43 saves in a 3-1 tourney finale win over Canada after 32 stops to subdue a star-studded Russia club 1-0 in the semifinal. He started the medal-round run by holding off Sweden in a 5-4 overtime quarterfinal triumph and finished the event at 7-1-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, .942 saves percentage and two shutouts.

“On paper, we probably weren’t the strongest team, but in the locker-room we had a great thing going on. Great chemistry, coaching staff and system and we stuck with,” recalled Lankinen. “Sweden probably had one of its best teams in years, same with Russia, and to go all the way to the gold medal against Canada as a young goalie was exciting.

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“Just seeing that and how the nation got together. We had a couple of celebrations back home with 50,000 people in two different cities and we were like rock stars for a week. A super-cool experience.”

‘The ceiling is not even close yet’

It also put the undrafted Lankinen in a bigger NHL spotlight. He had signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018, but was in the AHL and ECHL before getting his shot with the big club in 2020-21 and playing 37 games.

“It’s just the love of the game and to fulfill my potential,” Lankinen said of paying his professional dues. “I loved working out and taking extra shots, and even to this day, there’s so much more to accomplish and get better at. The ceiling is not even close yet.”

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He owes all that to the 2019 world experience.

“It was a great opportunity to showcase my talent and wearing the Finnish crest was great motivation,” added Lankinen. “As a kid, my dream was to make it to the NHL and win a Stanley Cup. You watch the world championship every year growing up, and to me those guys were my heroes.

“To be a part of that (2019) is one of my best memories so far.”

Is net quest Roberto Luongo 2.0?

Lankinen will vie for the net with former Nashville Predators teammate Juuse Saros and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres. Maybe this shapes up as 2.0 version of what occurred with Canucks stopper Roberto Luongo at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Martin Brodeur started for Canada and struggled in the final preliminary game, so Luongo got the net and kept it all the way to a gold-medal triumph.

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Lankinen should start ahead of Saros on Saturday. He has the best NHL statistics of the Finnish trio — 2.53 GAA., .905 saves percentage, three shutouts — while Saros has a 2.95 GAA., .898 percentage and four shutouts. Luukkonen is 3.02 GAA., .895 percentage and two shutouts.

“I’ve been in that situation with Juuse before,” noted Lankinen. “It’s fun to get our tandem back together, and Luukkonen is a great goalie. I’ll leave it up to the coaching staff, but I’m going to be ready to challenge and help the team win.”

Saros allowed six goals Friday in a 6-2 loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, while one night later at Rogers Arena, Lankinen replaced an injured Demko in the second period. He calmly made 21 saves to backstop a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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“He’s done it all year,” marvelled Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “That’s why he’s such a professional. I’m sure he was disappointed that he hasn’t played in the last game or two, but he doesn’t complain or whine. He’s one of those guys who can go in cold and give you some minutes.”

And just in case the Finnish coaching staff needs another nudge, Lankinen is having a record season. He started with a 10-0-0 road mark to surpass Glenn Hall (1965-66) and Cam Talbot (2022-23).

“He’s a road warrior. I think he likes his hotel points,” joked Tocchet. “He lives for the moment.”

It started as a kid who was enamoured by Finnish goalie greats Miikka Kiprusoff, Pekka Rinne, Niklas Backstrom and Kari Lehtonen. And after playing forward and defence, Lankinen found his calling.

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“They were my heroes,” said Lankinen. “I would wake up every morning and watch the highlights. They paved the way for us.The position just kind of drew me in. I played defence and forward, but when I played defence, I was blocking shots in front of the net and making our goalie mad. He couldn’t see the puck.

“It was somehow just natural for me to play goal, and I played a lot of street hockey growing up.”

Lankinen is saving a season that was off the rails before the Canucks revamped their roster and went on a 6-1-1 run to vault into a playoff position heading into the NHL break.

He accepted a bargain-basement, one-year, $875,000 US deal as insurance to complement the young but raw Arturs Silovs, while Demko rehabbed an April 21 popliteus muscle knee injury. Lankinen has never had more than a two-year commitment from an NHL club and is worthy of a considerable raise here as a pending unrestricted free agent.

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But how much? And for how long? That’s where it’s going to get very interesting.

“I’m excited about what comes this summer,” said Lankinen. “There are some good opportunities on the table, and I turned down some offers with better money because I was keen to have a good opportunity to play more games.

It wasn’t about not having a job. It was about the right opportunity. And you have to trust yourself. If you don’t, it’s hard for anybody else to trust you.”
The balancing act between term and salary are key components because Demko has another year remaining on his extension that carries at annual $5 million salary-cap hit.

He is the designated starter, and if he eventually backs up that status with consistency and durability, the 2023-24 Vezina Trophy finalist could seek market value.

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A contract comparable among proven starters is at least $8 million annually. Connor Hellebuyck, 31, got a $8.5 million cap hit in a seven-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets in 2023. Jeremy Swayman, 26, received $8.25 million in annual average value with an eight-year commitment from the Boston Bruins in October.

As for Lankinen, there are a dozen goalies of varying age from 28 to 34 and experience who currently have cap hits between $5 million and $6 million. That range could be negotiating bookends for the Canucks, who may offer Lankinen term as incentive to not swing for a home run. Then again, the salary cap is going up.

The Canucks are open to finding a solution to retain the unflappable Finn. He’s been a great fit on the ice, on the bench and in the room.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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