Capitals Rumors: 3 Potential Trade Destinations for Darcy Kuemper

One thing became very clear this season in Washington, the Capitals goaltender of the now and the future is southpaw Charlie Lindgren. Darcy Kuemper, a prized offseason signing from two summers ago found himself in a backup role and on the bench in the postseason.

Look for the Capitals to explore the trade market this summer with Kuemper's modified no-trade clause changing from 15-teams until May 31, down to 10-teams list starting on June 1st. Here's three potential teams who could be in play to bring on the 34-year-old netminder:

New Jersey Devils

The Devils brought in Jake Allen to start last season but GM Tom Fitzgerald admitted he'd like to find another goalie to partner with Allen for next season. The Capitals are likely going to have to retain a bit of money in any trade as GM's won't be chomping at the bit to take on the full salary of a 34-year-old netminder who underperformed last season. It's kind of strange Fitzgerald thinks the team needs another goalie with Nico Daws and Akira Schmid waiting in the wings for more minutes. It's not going to take much for the Caps to let Kuemper go, even with a in-division deal on the table.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings want to win now and they need a goalie to do so. Kuemper for Pierre-Luc Dubois has been floated around on the internet of late and Kuemper is very familiar with playing on the west coast and spent some time with the organization back in 2018 when he stood on his head for 19 games, posting a .932 Sv.%. This deal which Jeff Marek of Sportsnet mentioned does make a ton of sense for both sides and could happen as soon as the NHL Draft. LA would certainly be on Kuemper's list of teams he'd prefer. 

Detroit Red Wings

Swapping struggling goaltenders could be the play here with Ville Husso going the other way. The Red Wings love Alex Lyon, but they'd love to move on from Husso who has one more season left on his deal at $4.75 million. Detroit does have former first-round pick Sebastian Cossa who had a great season in the AHL, and may be ready to mix in some NHL minutes, but given the Wings like to take their time with prospects, bringing in Kuemper to tandem with Lyon for now, could be of interest to Steve Yzerman. These two teams have done a few deals together in the past.

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