Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper has seen his name involved in trade speculation over the past several weeks amid reports that the team is looking to reduce its payroll for the 2020-21 season. However, it appears that a lofty asking price has been set to get him as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Arizona GM Bill Armstrong is seeking a first-round pick plus another piece in order to part with the 30-year-old.
Kuemper has turned his career around considerably in the past few years after moving on from Minnesota in 2017. Since then, he has posted a save percentage of .920 or better in each of those three seasons along with a GAA that has dipped from 2.52 to 2.22 since then. Having said that, it’s worth noting that Kuemper only played in 29 games this season due to a lower-body injury that held him out of 28 contests plus the pandemic. Overall, he has played in just 113 games over the past three seasons so while he has certainly played well, he also hasn’t shown that he can be a starting goalie over a full year which an acquiring team would envision him as to even consider paying that asking price.
Teams looking for a cost-effective goalie will certainly be intrigued by his $4.5MM AAV for the next two years. That’s cheaper than what the top netminders will get in free agency and at a time where every dollar is going to count in this cap environment, that’s certainly important.
But with other goalies believed to be available for trade including Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray, Carolina’s Petr Mrazek, and potentially one of Columbus’ netminders as well, it will be difficult for Armstrong to have that price met. There is considerable supply available and that, in theory, should drive the price down.
This is far from a must-move situation; even if they do have to trim payroll, there are other veterans that the Coyotes could try to move to accomplish that objective. If they can’t get their price for Kuemper, Antti Raanta and his $4.25MM AAV (and only $2MM left in salary with his signing bonus of $2MM already paid) could potentially be in play at some point. But if they can get their price, it would certainly be a great return for someone that they parted with only Tobias Rieder and Scott Wedgewood to get back in 2018.
Oil 1st and puljujarvi we’ll figure out salary l8ter!!
If you have a late first rounder maybe. I don’t he is that much better then many of others available.
agree. in a year with tons of goalies and a flat cap that price seems high
First round pick….lol, not a chance!
Why not Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman granted really good role players the Sharks and Devils got First Round Picks for them. So why not for Kuemper? He is considerably better then Matt Murray and Petr Mrazek and more proven then the 2 Jackets Goalies and is a good price the next couple of years.
Cause you have Lehner, Markstrom and Holtby as key free agents along with a couple decent 1b types like Talbot or even Anderson. Trade market also has Andersen in it along with potentially MAF if Vegas does go in another direction. Best time in a while to be looking for a goalie
I think Lehner already signed
Never finalized my guess is waiting to resolve MAF situation first
Also worth noting that despite the Coyotes trying to spin it publicly, everyone knows they need to dump contracts. Word is out that the Coyotes are willing to move literally anyone making real money.
Kuemper? Yep his name is out there.
OEL? Yep, his too.
Keller? Also him.
Kessel? Hjalmarsson? Stepan? Yep, yep, and yep.
Tough to see Arizona getting great value from these trades when most GMs have financial issues of their own to deal with, and all of them know that the Coyotes must sell.
I’d give that offer to Columbus for Merzilenkis (Spelling is way off lol). Kid has a bright future. Would love him in Royal Blue and Gold to pair up with 6k for years to come!
An idea I’ve floated on another site is a trade of Fredrik Andersen for Darcy Kuemper.
The Leafs save $500k of cap space, and get an extra year of goaltending. The Coyotes get a solid starting goalie, and save basically all of the actual cash owed to Kuemper since Andersen is only owed $1M in salary.
There are questions… Arizona would be absorbing an extra $500k of cap hit next season, and Kuemper has been nowhere near the workhorse that Andersen has been over the last five seasons.
However, it doesn’t look like Arizona is planning to be anywhere near the cap by the time next season starts, and Toronto could try running a more balanced goalie rotation with Kuemper and Campbell.
Arizona would never do that.
Why not?
The Coyotes are asking for a 1st rd pick so you think they’ll settle for Andersen who’s older and making more than Kuemper?? Get real. They already have Raanta who they are obviously interested in keeping. What would they do with Andersen? No one is giving anyone a 1st for Andersen.
The Leafs are screwed and every team in the league knows it. Why would any team give a gift to the Leafs when they know they’re over a barrell? Most teams trading with the Leafs are in a power position.
bc they like Adin Hill and want to save money not spend more.
The Leafs are asking for a top four defenceman for Andersen. I don’t think either team is going to get what they are asking.
Andersen has a higher cap hit, but $4M of that is a bonus that the Leafs already paid. In actual real dollars Andersen’s salary this year is $2.5M less than Kuemper, which matters a lot to the Coyotes. Next year Kuemper is owed $5.5M, and Andersen is a UFA.
You see, the Leafs aren’t “screwed” as you put it, because the Leafs don’t have to do anything. They don’t have any key contacts up for renewal, they have both cap space and essentially unlimited reserves of cash, and are owned by a telecommunications giant whose revenue is not particularly affected by this pandemic. Toronto could just sign a few guys to fill out the roster and wait for the season to start.
The Coyotes on the other hand have no cap space, have no cash reserves, and are owned by people who make their money from casinos – money they are not making during this pandemic. The Coyotes were already late making payments to players, and are under orders to drastically cut payroll – this is why Kuemper and OEL are even available.
A trade for Andersen saves the Coyotes $8M in real money. Not cap space, actual money.
It’s amusing that you characterize the Coyotes as having the power and the Leafs being over a barrel. The Leafs are interested in improving their team. The Coyotes are desperate to dump contracts and cut payroll.
Yes, and trading Kuemper for Andersen saves the Coyotes $8M over the next two seasons.
Kuemper is owed $3.5M this season, and $5.5M next season. Andersen is only owed $1M for this season.
Any chance the bruins could scoop him in an OEL trade? Assuming the bruins could move Rask first. Darcy and halak could be a decent pairing