Coyotes Trade Darcy Kuemper To The Colorado Avalanche

After losing Philipp Grubauer to Seattle earlier today, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic appears to have gone into full panic mode. The team was left at the end of free-agency day 1 without a starting goalie of any kind, so Sakic did what he had to do. The Avs traded defensive prospect Conor Timmins, their 2022 first-round pick, and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2024 to Arizona in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper. While this seems like an overpay, Arizona held all the cards here and Colorado was desperate. Arizona will retain $1 million of the $4.5 million Kuemper makes next season. He will be a UFA in 2022.

Drafted 161st overall in 2009 by the Minnesota Wild, Kuemper has spent time with three teams in his 9-year NHL career: Minnesota, LA, and Arizona. The 31-year old really found his game with the Coyotes, posting a 2.22 GAA and a .928sv% in 2019-2020. Kuemper had a down year in 2021 - but so did the Coyotes in general - and he suffered injuries that hampered his ability to play consistently. Kuemper has dealt with injury issues throughout his career, something Colorado is clearly hoping is behind him. While Kuemper has only appeared in 18 playoff games, he is a seasoned NHL regular season veteran and will help fill a desperate need in Colorado's net.

In exchange, Arizona acquires Conor Timmins, the 32nd overall pick in 2017 by Colorado. Timmins has only played 33 games in the NHL and has compiled 7 assists in that time. He is still searching for his first NHL goal, but the right-shot defenceman still has lots of room to grow and has shown the ability to produce consistently at the AHL level. He will be given lots of space to fit into the Coyotes lineup this season as the team prepares for a rough 2021-2022 in hopes of earning themselves a lottery pick in next year's draft.

What do you think of this trade between Colorado and Arizona?

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