SERAVALLI: Ice Breakers – Darcy Kuemper emerges as Leafs, Avalanche primary target
Let’s break the ice …
> Arizona Coyotes goaltender @Darcy Kuemper has emerged as a primary target for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. Both teams remain in contact and conversation with their pending free agents in @Frederik Andersen and @Philipp Grubauer, respectively, but trade talks have been ongoing with Arizona as the Avs and Leafs consider the goaltending market at-large. The Seattle Kraken are also believed to have interest in Kuemper.
Kuemper, 31, has one year remaining on his deal at $4.5 million AAV – with a real cash salary of $5.5 million. However, Kuemper’s camp has informed Arizona that an extension will not be in the cards. That development, coupled with Arizona’s internal cap budget rumored to be around $65 million next season, makes him a prime trade candidate.
Kuemper will be featured on the next edition of Trade Targets – if he remains on the board long enough for the next update.
It is possible that a deal for Kuemper materializes in short order, perhaps so that Arizona could move to protect @Adin Hill in the upcoming Expansion Draft. The Avalanche, for one, do not have protection issues in net. But in an ideal scenario for Toronto, any transaction with Arizona would occur after the Expansion Draft, so @Jack Campbell could be protected to play in tandem with Kuemper next season. Another option, of course, is that the Kraken make a deal with Arizona to make Kuemper available for selection.
The one question mark about Kuemper has been his durability. He has played just 27 and 29 games each of the last two seasons. The Saskatchewan native missed more than a month of last year’s shortened campaign with a lower-body injury. When healthy, he’s proven to be an upper-echelon netminder, registering a 53-42-13 record with .922 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against-average over his last three full seasons (111 appearances).
> Other goaltenders potentially on the Maple Leafs’ list: pending UFAs @Linus Ullmark, @Petr Mrazek, @Chris Driedger, @Jaroslav Halak and trade targets @Joonas Korpisalo and @Marc-Andre Fleury, to name an inconclusive few. There are many options for Toronto, including sticking with Andersen, which has not been ruled out.
> Another young goaltender potentially available: @Alexandar Georgiev. Teams who have inquired with new Rangers GM Chris Drury believe the ask to be a first-round pick as part of any trade opportunity on Georgiev, who will still be under team control as an RFA once the final year of his deal ($2.425 million) expires next summer. There is no urgency or rush for the Rangers. It’s a luxury move for Drury as @Igor Shesterkin is exempt from the Expansion Draft.
> No final decision has been made, but all signs point to the Calgary Flames leaving captain @Mark Giordano unprotected when lists are due for the Expansion Draft on Saturday. Conversations about the possibility have been ongoing between the Flames and Giordano for a year now, so if it does indeed come to pass, there will be no surprise. Calgary does not plan to entice Seattle with assets to select Giordano. However, if Giordano is chosen, that would free up $6.75 million in cap flexibility for the Flames, who are ready to make a significant change.
> There has been no shortage of interest expressed in @Ryan Suter in the hours since his stirring buyout from the Minnesota Wild. All of the usual cap-strapped contenders, such as the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders make sense as he will seek a chance to win at a drastically reduced cap hit next season. Another potential landing spot to keep in mind: the Boston Bruins.
By virtue of the buyout, Suter, 36, has the chance to double-dip and not just be made whole but out-earn his contract in Minnesota. He will ultimately be paid $94.67 million of the $98 million he signed for in 2012. The bulk of that $3.33 million lost in the buyout can be earned this season. Anything on top of that moving forward will be gravy – not that it wasn’t already for a player north of $100 million in career earnings.
> Admittedly, a bit of a tease to close Ice Breakers: With the Montreal Canadiens potentially gaining $7.86 million in more salary cap flexibility dependent on @Shea Weber’s injuries, do not rule out the Habs making a play for Sabres captain @Jack Eichel.