It appears that the Washington Capitals are on the verge of addressing their goalie issue in the NHL free agency, with Colorado Avalanche and Stanley Cup champion netminder Darcy Kuemper reportedly in agreement to sign and be the man in front of the net for the Caps, beginning in the 2022-23 NHL season.
UFA period opens at 12 noon ET, we are on air at 11 am with@TSNHockey #FreeAgentFrenzy. As usual, deals already in place and players already reportedly tied to team(s). Such as Campbell (EDM), Kuemper (WSH), Copp (DET), Giroux (OTT). It will be a busy day.
This report comes shortly after the Capitals decided not to extend a qualifying offer to goalie Ilya Samsonov. Prior to that, Washington also sent Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils via trade during the second day of the 2022 NHL Draft, leaving Capitals fans with big question marks swirling around their heads about what exactly was the direction Washington was going with regards to the goalie situation.
Kuemper is apparently the answer to that, with Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic also providing some context about the Capitals' decision on Samsonov.
The decision not to qualify Samsonov was a financial decision. As an RFA (with arbitration rights), the #Caps projected that he'd come in at $3-$3.5 million per, which, in their view, was too much for a backup and not justified based on his performance to date.
With the Capitals having close to $9 million in projected cap space just before the official start of the 2022 NHL free agency, Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff thinks that Kuemper could be signing a mid-length contract worth $5.5 million.
As has been speculated, Darcy Kuemper would seem to be a great fit in the Nation's Capital. I'd expect a deal in the range of 5 years x $5.5 million whenever Kuemper and #caps get to talking.
Kuemper went 37-12-4 with a 2.54 GAA and .921 SV% in 57 starts last season for the Avalanche.
Follow Us
Subscribe