By Jordan Long
Free Agency in the NHL started yesterday at 10 A.M. Mountain time. The Colorado Avalanche lost goaltender Philipp Grubauer who decided to sign with the expansion Seattle Kraken. Colorado needed to upgrade the goaltending and made a trade with Arizona for goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Colorado knew once Grubauer agreed to a contract with Seattle, they had to make a move. They could have signed free agent goaltenders Jaroslav Halak, James Reimer, and Braden Holtby who all found new homes. There wasn’t any word on if Colorado even discussed a contract with any of them. Colorado placed a call to Arizona to make a deal for Darcy Kuemper. Arizona receives a 2022 first-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick, and defenseman Connor Timmins. Colorado gave up a lot.
Kuemper is entering his 11th year in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche are his 4th team. Kuemper previously played for Minnesota and L.A. before landing in Arizona the past 4 years. Last season wasn’t his best in an NHL shortened season. He struggled at times, but it wasn’t all his fault. He didn’t have help in front of him. His defense gave up a lot of scoring chances. Those were odd man rushes and Kuemper couldn’t stop the puck. His record was 10-11-3. His goals against average wasn’t bad at 2.56 and his save percentage was .907.
Colorado anticipates Kuemper will play at a level as he did in 2019. That year, Kuemper won a career high 27 games. His goals against average was 2.33 with a save percentage of .925. Arizona though didn’t make the postseason that year. They missed out on the playoffs by 4 points.
In his career, Kuemper’s regular season record is 106-83-32 with a goals against average of 2.47. His save percentage is .917. In the playoffs, Kuemper appeared in 18 playoff games. His record is 7-6 with a goals against average of 2.86 and a save percentage of .913.
When Kuemper is on his game, it is difficult for opposing teams to score. He uses his glove and pads to stop the puck from entering the net. He will cover the puck to slow down the game and earn a defensive zone faceoff. Kuemper won’t give up many rebound chances, preventing goals and allowing his team to skate the puck out of the zone. Colorado is eager for this to be the case. They have the offense but they need a goaltender to be a wall and stop teams from scoring which Kuemper should be.
The Avalanche have Stanley Cup aspirations. They haven’t been past the 2nd-round since 2002 when they were beaten by the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals. Colorado is gambling on Kuemper. They hope it pays off with winning the Stanley Cup.
Leave a Reply