It's time to talk about Darcy Kuemper

We knew we might be on borrowed time with him. For some, it’s a welcome relief to learn Darcy Kuemper will be a UFA this summer. With the offseason set to begin sometime in the next five days, the conversation that was once reserved for a later date is fast approaching.

I’m not here to have that conversation just yet. There’s still just a bit of time, and some of that hinges on the outcome of this final push. It could all be over in just one day.

Let’s start from the beginning. The Avs were in a precarious position when Philipp Grubauer opted to test free agency after the 2020-21 season.

Despite a regular season performance so strong that he finished among the top goaltenders of the year, the Avs experienced a second-round exit that we remember all too well. In that, the conversations about Grubauer’s performance varied. He had a solid first round in their sweep of St. Louis, but it’s in the Vegas series where things fall apart.

There were other factors outside of goaltending that proved a challenge for the Avs, but there were games that he stole and games that he dropped in the end. There was a range of reactions among the fan base when the Avs couldn’t come to an agreement with Grubauer. Many expressed concern. How could Colorado fill the shoes of a Vezina finalist with a harrowing goaltender market before them?  At the time, 17 different goaltenders either received new contracts or were traded in a 24-hour span.

We have the benefit of hindsight when it comes to Grubauer, but the reactions surrounding Kuemper’s performance in the playoffs are not so different from that of Grubauer’s last year in terms of varied praise, criticisms, and worry.

Grubauer spent three seasons as the Avs starter and left memories fans will hold dear. The longevity of his tenure is one advantage Kuemper did not have with just this season to prove himself to Colorado – especially with the stakes higher than ever.

Kuemper came to Denver in the knick of time, but not without a cost. The Avs traded defenseman Conor Timmins, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and a conditional third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft that will go to Arizona if the Avs win. The gamble on losing Timmins was another piece that, again in hindsight, the Avs could afford to part with as their young d-corps begins to take shape in Cale Makar, Sam Girard and Bowen Byram.

The regular season kicked off with a promising start for Kuemper: he had a fine October in the beginning stages of an Avalanche team finding its footing even in the absence of Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog at points. Likely unrelated to a bit of a stumble in November were the equipment issues that interrupted gameplay due to problems with his skate blades.

Save Percentage Average by Month for 2021-2022 season.

December is where he really began to come into his own, returning to the lineup after missing some time following a shot to the head in practice on December 1st. He returned on December 8th against the New York Rangers and it would be one of the last average performances for the next four months posting five shutouts and becoming a dark horse candidate in Vezina discussions.

Even his regular-season finish, which prompted some worry in the final games, revealed a season that in its totality was nothing to scoff at. He finished 37-12-4 with 57 starts, a 0.921 SV%, and made 1,616 saves – the 6th most of any Avalanche goaltender just behind Semyon Varlamov’s 2014-15 season. He was also fifth in most games won in the regular season among all Avalanche goaltenders.

The greatest test and ultimately the most important, of course, has come in the playoffs, but it’s a team sport and a team effort that crowned Colorado the top seed in the Western Conference due to a dominant regular season that secured a home-ice advantage through the playoffs. We know the Avs have been a solid team on the road, but the boost is a welcome addition.

It started encouraging in the Nashville series with a 0.927 SV% average through the first few games of the sweep, but when Ryan Johansen’s stick caught Kuemper’s eye with under a minute remaining in the first period of Game 3, he didn’t return for the series and there was panic. 

Panic because Kuemper is the guy. He’s been the guy all season. Despite sentimental feelings and confidence in backup goaltender Pavel Francouz, the concern was of merit. Francouz valiantly closed out the series, but the Avs were looking down the barrel of a hungry St. Louis Blues team and haunted by the ghosts of too many second-round exits to feel comfortable moving forward without Kuemper.

Returning in time for the St. Louis series, Kuemper withstood all six games with a rocky Game 4 and 5 in particular. It was noted some of the allowed goals revealed a puck tracking issue.

We knew that Kuemper had been dealing with swelling to his eye, but in Game 1 of the Edmonton series, we learned there was more to it. He pulled himself in the second period after allowing 3 goals on 16 shots. It was reported he had blurry vision and couldn’t see the puck – residual effects from the initial injury in the Nashville series. It put a little into perspective, and thankfully Francouz stepped in and closed out a series yet again.

At this point, Kuemper hadn’t really gotten a chance to develop anything close to consistency with each round marred by injury one way or another. It’s not an excuse, but it is a reason. The caliber of goaltending seen for month-long stretches in the regular season is hard to bottle up and apply series by series, especially with the Avs making quick work of Nashville and Edmonton.

It feels like yesterday we were having conversations about Roman Josi vs. Cale Makar ahead of the first-round match-up. Now, one is a Norris trophy winner and Colorado is playing in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-1 series lead and a chance to win it all at home tomorrow night.

When Kuemper started Game 1 against Tampa Bay, we collectively held our breath. He said he was 100%, but we watched the first attempted relaunch through St. Louis and wanted him to really be 100% more than anything.

It was a close call with a 4-3 OT win, Kuemper made 20 of 23 saves and left many wanting. Could Darcy Kuemper steal a game as we saw in the regular season? The shutout in Game 2 came and passed. The Avs all-around dominant performance stole the show leaving him largely uncontested with just 16 shots on net from Tampa.

And then there was Game 3. Kuemper was pulled midway through the 2nd after 5 went past him in the 6-2 loss. Francouz came in as relief.

It’s not the first time a goaltender was pulled in these playoffs. Igor Shesterkin, 2022 Vezina winner, was pulled in Game 3 of the Pittsburgh series after allowing 4 goals on 15 shots. It was followed by a rocky Game 4. Similarly, alongside this is 2019 Vezina winner Andrei Vasilevskiy whose save percentage has fallen below 0.900 in seven of his 21 playoff starts – two of which happened at the hands of Colorado.

As a matter of fact, few teams have had the fortune of incredible goaltending with injuries and poor performances plaguing many playoff contenders. Pittsburgh went without their starting goaltender, Tristan Jarry, all the way until Game 7 due to injury. Nashville went without Saros, Carolina without Frederik Andersen, and eventually St. Louis without Binnington. Jack Campbell struggled with Toronto and we watched Mike Smith struggle for Edmonton.

Colorado has proven to be a resilient team who will return from failures with answers. It wasn’t easy, but even with his helmet being knocked off 36 seconds into the game, Kuemper came up big in Game 4.

I won’t make you relive Game 3, but Nathan MacKinnon reflected on it last night after their OT win.

“[Kuemper] was great,” he said. “[Even] in Game 3, he had some bad luck with some of those goals that went in, and we hung him out to dry for a few of them as well. That’s the Kuemps we know. No doubt going into this game that he was going to be great, and we expect the same next game,” MacKinnon said.

But perhaps nobody believes in him more than Jared Bednar.

“He battled. I never doubt his care, his try,” he explained. “You can go through our lineup: there’s guys who’ve had bad games in the playoffs. It’s magnified when you’re a goalie because it’s the last line of defense. Our team believes in him. I believe in him. I wanted to make sure he believed in himself – that he’d be able to bounce back and do that job. That was a hard-fought hockey game. A lot of talk about Vasilevskiy, rightfully so, but Kuemps was equally as good tonight in my opinion.”

Maybe he’d like to have that second goal back. Maybe every goaltender would like to have them all back.

Top Seed in the Western Conference. A sweep of the Nashville Predators. Finally, advancing past the second round. And now, one win away from becoming Stanley Cup Champions. Darcy Kuemper has been the starter through it all – good, bad, and ugly.

We can have the unrestricted free agent conversation in a couple of tomorrows. Right now, the Colorado Avalanche have a Stanley Cup to win, and whether he’s your guy or not, Darcy Kuemper will be the guy starting in net tomorrow with a chance to bring it all home.