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The Colorado Avalanche made the surprising decision to acquire New York Rangers' backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev ahead of NHL free agency. The move to bring Georgiev to Colorado effectively signals the end of Darcy Kuemper's tenure in Colorado. Kuemper is set to hit unrestricted free agency, and the Avs' trade suggests that they won't be getting a deal done with their goaltender, thus clearing his path to hit the open market.
Kuemper should have a handful of suitors in free agency, where he'll instantly become one of the top net-minders available. With several teams, including some contenders, in need of a sound goalie, it shouldn't be too difficult for Kuemper to latch on with a new team and compete for a starting gig.
He was solid, if not spectacular, for the Avs during the playoffs, but did more than enough to get them across the finish line as Stanley Cup champions. His second half of the regular season is what will truly catch the eye of interested franchises this summer, however, as he enjoyed some of the best hockey of his career following the 2022 All-Star break.
At 32, Kuemper still has multiple quality seasons left in the tank, and he could be a big difference-maker for a team looking for their missing piece in between the sticks.
With that in mind, here are the three best free agency destinations for Darcy Kuemper in the 2022 NHL offseason.
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Darcy Kuemper Free Agency Destinations
The Edmonton Oilers will need to make some cap-saving moves if they want to bring Kuemper on board, but now that he's become available, it's something the team absolutely needs to consider. Mike Smith was solid in the playoffs, but he's 40 years old and may not have much left in the tank, despite being under contract for one more year at a cap hit of $2.2 million.
As it stands, Smith is the only goalie on the Oilers roster, so they'll need to address the position regardless. While Kuemper may be a bit of an expensive target for the Oilers, he'd be a huge acquisition for the team and could be a key piece in helping them reach a Stanley Cup after fizzling out against the Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals.
The Capitals could be another intriguing landing spot for Kuemper. After deploying the young tandem of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek last season, it's clear that it's time for a change in Washington. With the team still looking to compete for a Stanley Cup before its championship window closes in the near future, Kuemper could be the perfect stopgap goalie to help them put up a better fight in the gauntlet of the Eastern Conference.
The Capitals will likely have to tear everything down and rebuild in a few years, once the contracts of their core of veterans expire. There's seemingly still a while until that point, however, and Kuemper could be the missing piece they need to make a deep playoff run in 2022-23.
Is there a team with a bigger need in goal than the Maple Leafs? For a franchise that has been bounced from the playoffs in the first round more times than they'd care to admit, the Maple Leafs simply have not done enough to address their struggles at goalie. They didn't make a big trade deadline acquisition for a netminder despite rumors they'd be in the market for one, and that resulted in yet another first-round exit during the playoffs.
Now, they'll need to right that mistake and make a big splash on Darcy Kuemper, who would instantly stand in as the team's best goalie. Petr Mrazek still has a couple of seasons left on his contract, but he's not going to get the Leafs where they want to go, and that's to a championship. With Auston Matthews fresh off a Hart Trophy-winning campaign, it's time to further fortify the team behind him.
