Capitals Rumors: Washington pursuing Darcy Kuemper

The Washington Capitals are now searching for that number one veteran goaltender after making their decision between Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. They ultimately decided to trade away Vanecek. One net minder they could go for is Darcy Kuemper and apparently they are trying.

Yesterday Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic told TSN that the Capitals and Kuemper are a “possible match”. The Stanley Cup champion goaltender is hitting the open market after the Colorado Avalanche are unable to afford him.

The Avalanche went with this route… trading for Alexandar Georgiev and going with him and Pavel Francouz in net. Now that the Avalanche won a Cup, Kuemper’s value goes way up. And last season leading up to the Cup surely helped his cause.

Kuemper went 37-12-4 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.54 goals against average in the regular season in 57 games. In 18 playoff games he posted a .902 save percentage with a 2.57 goals against average.

Kuemper turned 32 not too long ago so not only would the Caps be getting a veteran they need, they’ll be getting a veteran with plenty of years left in him. He’s been consistent throughout his career and that’s what the Caps need after spending two years with inconsistent goalies.

In 299 games, he has a save percentage of .918 and has only posted a save percentage of under .915 just four times in his career which has spanned 10years. That includes only once in the last four seasons. And that was when he played for the lowly Arizona Coyotes.

Brian MacLellan made it clear yesterday when he dealt Vanecek. He’s ready to “jump into the fire” and find the right goalie to take this team back to the promise land. Why not go with someone that was just there? The question is what kind of price they can get him for.