Cup-winning goalie Kuemper signs with Capitals

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who received the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche final month, has signed a five-year free agent contract with the Washington Capitals.

Kuemper, 32, agreed to a $26.25 million deal that carries a mean annual worth of $5.25 million towards the wage cap.

Simply a short time later, the Capitals discovered his backup, signing Charlie Lindgren to a three-year deal at a mean of $1.1 million.

There was heavy buzz concerning the Kuemper transfer on the NHL draft after the Capitals traded Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils. It elevated when the Capitals walked away from restricted free agent goalie Ilya Samsonov, who subsequently signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Practically a 12 months in the past to the day, Kuemper joined the Avalanche, after Colorado goaltender Philipp Grubauer signed with the enlargement Seattle Kraken. He was coming off a season that made him a Vezina Trophy finalist, and his free agent presents have been many, leaving a gaping gap within the Avalanche web.

Colorado was additionally coming off successful the Presidents’ Trophy because the league’s greatest staff however shedding within the second spherical of the playoffs, so the staff shortly snared Kuemper the identical day that Grubauer bolted.

Colorado swung a cope with Arizona for the goalie. He had been a part-time participant his total profession, typically attributable to accidents, however had proven flashes of being one thing extra.

Colorado’s gamble clearly paid off. Kuemper received 37 video games with a .921 save share within the common season. He received 10 extra video games throughout the playoffs and was on the ice when the Avalanche held on for a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay in Sport 6.

The query for Colorado was discovering a contract quantity and time period for a goalie who’s 32 years previous. Kuemper is coming off a two-year, $9 million contract, and joins a Washington staff that misplaced in Spherical 1 final season to the Florida Panthers.

The 28-year-old Lindgren, who has seen restricted motion in six NHL seasons, began 4 video games for the St. Louis Blues final season, with a 1.22 objectives towards common and .958 save share.