HENDERSON, Nev. — Darcy Kuemper viewed his day with the Stanley Cup in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Aug. 5 as the final celebration of the championship he won with the Colorado Avalanche last season.
“You try to get everything organized for the day because you want it to go perfect,” the goalie said at the NHL North American Player Media Tour last week. “Then, you give the Cup back at midnight sharp and that’s kind of the last page of that chapter and you’re on to the next one.”
Kuemper’s next chapter begins with the start of training camp with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. The 32-year-old signed a five-year, $26.5 million contract (average annual value of $5.25 million) with the Capitals as an unrestricted free agent on July 13, hoping it will be a mutually beneficial relationship.
After playing 10 seasons in the NHL before winning the Cup for the first time, Kuemper wants to do it again and help Washington, which hasn’t advanced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since it won its first championship in 2018.
“They’ve got a lot of pieces from the last time they won and added some great pieces this summer,” Kuemper said. “So, we’re excited for the season, and we think we can do a lot of great things.”
Kuemper gives the Capitals the established No. 1 goalie they were seeking after inconsistent play Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek the past two seasons. Kuemper was 37-12-4 with a 2.54 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and five shutouts in 57 regular-season games and 10-4 with a 2.57 GAA and .902 save percentage in 16 playoff games last season.
His .921 save percentage in 197 games (102-61-22) over the past five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes and Avalanche ranks first among NHL goalies to play at least 150 games, and his 2.43 GAA during that span is second behind retired Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (2.36).
“The way he’s played the last five or six years in the League and the fact that he just won a Stanley Cup, now he’s a Stanley Cup champion, I think his leadership and his presence in net is going to be noticeable,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. “Vitek and ‘Sammy,’ I thought they did a really good job and gave us an opportunity, but we had an opportunity to get an experienced guy in there and a guy that is now a winner.”
Samsonov, who was 23-12-5 with a 3.02 GAA, .896 save percentage and three shutouts in 44 games (39 starts) last season, signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 13 after Washington opted not to. give him a qualifying offer to retain his restricted free agent rights. Vanecek, who was 20-12-6 with a 2.67 GAA, .908 save percentage and four shutouts in 42 games (39 starts) last season, was traded to the New Jersey Devils on July 8.
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The Capitals also signed Charlie Lindgren, who was 5-0-0 (four starts) with a .958 save percentage and a 1.22 GAA with the St. Louis Blues last season, to a three-year, $3.3 million contract ($1.1 million AAV) to be the backup.
But Kuemper is expected to carry the bulk of the workload and welcomes the responsibility.
“I relish that opportunity to go out there and be a difference-maker every night,” he said. “Obviously, that’s what they’re asking me to do, so I just want to get the season started and go out and play like I do.”
Laviolette said he and goalie coach Scott Murray will likely sit down with Kuemper and map out a rough plan for how many games he may start. How the season goes and how much Kuemper is needed in the second half, when they might be battling for a playoff berth, could impact if that plan changes.
Kuemper started an NHL career-high 57 games last season despite missing time with an upper-body injury and while in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
“The more I play, I just feel like I’m in that rhythm and it’s easier to get in that zone,” he said. “You just start going with the flow when you’re out there and you’re not thinking too much, so that’s definitely how I feel.”
Braden Holtby was the last Capitals goalie to start more than 50 games in a season, when he started 58 in 2018-19. Holtby, who is an unrestricted free agent and not expected to play this season because of a lower-body injury, started 72 games in 2014-15 and tied an NHL record with 48 wins in 2015-16 when he started 66 games and won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie. Martin Brodeur had 48 wins for the New Jersey Devils in 2006-07.
Having grown up playing against Holtby, who is from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Kuemper would love to carry the Capitals’ goaltending mantle as Holtby once did.
“I saw him the other day and he was telling me how much he loved playing there and how great it’s going to be,” Kuemper said.
Holtby helped Washington win the Cup in 2018. After learning what it takes last season with the Avalanche, Kuemper believes that experience will aid him and the Capitals in their quest to win the Cup again.
“That’s what it’s all about, really,” Kuemper said. “That’s what you dream about. That’s why you want to play. To get into the League is one thing, and then winning the Cup is the ultimate goal, kind of the mountaintop. So, once you’ve reached that, you have the confidence that you can do anything.”
Photo credits: @Capitals
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