The Colorado Avalanche have acquired goalie Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2022 first-round draft pick, defender Conor Timmins, and a conditional 2024 3rd round pick.
This is a panic move for the Avalanche, but definitely one that was necessary. After striking out on goalies, most notably Philipp Grubauer, in free agency, the Avalanche’s choices were dwindling down for a Grubauer replacement. Kuemper and maybe John Gibson of the Ducks seemed to be the only two options. Kuemper most likely would have cost less and he is a good stopgap. He had a down year in 2020-21 but was mostly tremendous in his stint in Colorado. He also has just one year left on his contract at $4.5 million and the Coyotes did retain $1 million of that. So, getting Kuemper at $3.5 million for the season is very affordable. The cost is very high but the team did put themselves in a bad spot.
Kuemper, 31, had a 2.56 GAA with a .907 save percentage in 27 games for the Coyotes in 2020-21. In his NHL career for the Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, and Los Angeles Kings, Kuemper has a .917 save percentage with a 2.47 GAA in 242 games played.
The tank continues for the Coyotes as Bill Armstrong does a good job with this deal. He gets a first-round pick for a goalie that probably was not worth it. So, they got a first, second, and Timmins for their goaltending tandem from last year of Kuemper and Adin Hill. Timmins was selected with the first pick of the second round (32nd overall) in 2017. Almost all of his NHL games played came in 2020-21. He showed solid two-way potential. Timmins could easily be flipped as the selling continues. The condition on the pick is that the pick only transfers if the Avs win the Stanley Cup this upcoming season and Kuemper plays in 50 percent of their games.
Timmins, 22, had no goals and seven assists in 31 games for the Avalanche in 2020-21. He has just two additional career games played, with no points.
CarterHud 