Kings Should Sign Lankinen to Challenge Former Predators Backup for Backup Role

The Los Angeles Kings continue to have a problem in net. The team hasn't had adequate goaltending since Jonathan Quick in 2021-22, and before that, 2017-18. Goaltending to get the Kings into the playoffs has been very up and down, but when LA then competes in the first round (against the Edmonton Oilers), efficiency in net goes down further.

Something has to be done and the big move in net was bringing in former Washington Capitals starter Darcy Kuemper the season after he lost his starting job. Cam Talbot was allowed to walk to free agency and sign elsewhere after he did a solid job in net. But the other option behind Kuemper if things go awry is David Rittich.

since Quick left, it has been a revolving door to get netminding that won't fall apart. After bringing in another goaltender to start the season in Kuemper, that door continues to turn. With Kuemper and Rittich combining for 52 starts last season, that could become a very big problem. This is why there has to be another option to emerge in Los Angeles, and I'm not talking about the brief success story of Pheonix Copley.

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The goalie market is now thin after the Kings sat back and didn't address their goaltending further despite the cap space available, so there is one solid addition the team can still make and it's Kevin Lankinen, former backup of the Nashville Predators.

It is a lot to ask for Kuemper to return to form as a high-end starter and even more to ask of Rittich to post a SV% close to the one he had last season with the Kings after being recalled (.921 SV%). The 31-year-old started last season in the AHL and he has a .904 SV% as a backup in 81 games over the past four years.

Lankinen was the backup who replaced Rittich on the Predators after Rittich's 2021-22 season didn't go well at all. Lankinen put up solid numbers as a backup for the Predators, has since moved on, and is looking for an opportunity to start more games. Just as Copley's numbers didn't compare to 2022-23 when he came in later in the season to provide support, I don't think Rittich's numbers will hold up either.

Lankinen has a .912 SV% over the past two seasons with the Predators as the backup and is 29 years old. Even if the contract comes in as a 1-2 year deal, it provides Lankinen with the opportunity he's looking for on a team that has made the playoffs each of the past three years, and the Kings get another option in net in case the worst happens. There is a decent possibility Kuemper plays the way he did in Washington last season and Rittich declines to his career SV% of .906.

The Kings appear to be the best chance Lankinen has to get at least some of what he's looking for in his career and having a decently strong team in front of him could help his numbers for when he's up for a new deal. With the tossup in net this year in LA, Lankinen could emerge as a starter and be the saviour in goal the Kings have had each of the past two years.

The Kings have to get into the playoffs before thinking about going deeper. Poor netminding won't do the trick and Lankinen should be brought in to replace Rittich as the backup for the second time in their careers.

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