Normally, you take a shower to clean yourself.
It was also a new beginning for Darcy Kuemper.
The trade came together quickly on Wednesday, with the Kings and Capitals turning talks that began a few weeks earlier into a 1-for-1 swap that dominated hockey news between Games 5 and 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Kuemper was taking what he thought was a routine shower when his wife came in to tell him he had been traded to the Kings.
“It’s been a very strange way to find out,” he said, smiling. “It’s been a lot to process, but we’re both really excited about the move. We still have a few logistical things to figure out, but hockey-wise, we’re super excited.”
The logistical and business side of the job is never easy.
You don’t sign a five-year contract with the expectation of leaving after two years, as was ultimately the case with Kuemper in Washington.
A strong 2022-23 season and what he described as a “tough” 2023-24 season. Then a logical fit was found with the Kings, who were looking to part ways with forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and needed a goalie to complement David Rittich. A trade seemed to make sense for both sides, but the speed of execution creates these kinds of logistical problems that players must resolve. Fortunately for Kuemper, he’s returning to a place he has fond memories of, his brief stint in Los Angeles during the 2017-18 season. That makes it easier than most trades.
“It’s definitely a lot easier when you know the area and especially the team. Knowing a lot of the staff makes it a lot easier, you feel right at home,” Kuemper said today during his first media appearance with the Kings. “It’s difficult to move to a new team where you’re trying to get to know the area, get to know everyone and work at the same time. So it’s going to be an easy transition and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Kuemper made his breakthrough in the NHL with Minnesota, but it was only during his partial season in Los Angeles that he became a real starting option in the NHL.
Unfortunately, that opportunity didn’t come his way with the Kings, as Jonathan Quick was having one of the strongest seasons of his career. But there was Kuemper, with a .932 save percentage, as he lost just once in regulation in his 19 games with Los Angeles. He finally got his chance to start in Arizona and became the goalie he could be. Part of Kuemper wished he could have made it with the Kings.
Maybe now is the time.
“I loved my time there. It was only one season, it was hard to move on, but that was just the reality,” Kuemper said. “I wanted to play a bigger role that wasn’t available at LA at the time. Things have been going really well since then and now I’m excited to have the opportunity to come back and take on that role for a team I loved playing for.”
Kuemper knows he won’t necessarily be a starter in Los Angeles, knowing the game will move further away from that as the regular season progresses and will lean more toward tandem situations in most places given the physical demands that 82 games put on a goalie.
“I think it’s a lot harder for the guys to go out there and play more than 60 games a year,” he said.
He will likely play in a tandem with David Rittich on the Kings this season. Rittich is far from a young guy, but Kuemper is the more experienced of the two. Two seasons ago, he won the Stanley Cup as a top player in Colorado and now brings that success story to the Kings. He wants to bring his experience and game to Southern California and do his best to help the Kings achieve their goals, win and move forward as a franchise.
“I believe I can be a stabilizing force in goal and provide the goalkeeping that the team needs,” he said. “Obviously I have that experience because I won a trophy a few years ago and once you’ve tasted it you want to do it again. I believe I’m getting the opportunity to join a team that is capable of winning a trophy. I just want to provide a stable goalkeeping performance and do my part to help them achieve that.”
I would almost divide this experience into two levels.
First of all, this guy has been through it before, in the playoffs, and has come out the other end with a ring. Not everyone has what it takes to climb the mountain, but Kuemper is someone who has done it.
“You learn so much about yourself and what it takes as a team to get to that goal,” Kuemper said of the 2022 Cup run. “Obviously, every year there are so many good teams and only one wins, and it really takes something special. You just learn what it takes to be that successful, whether it’s in yourself or in team building. It’s really one of the greatest moments of your life. I’m so blessed to have had the chance to go through that, and I learned a lot about myself, a lot about the guys I played with. That’s an experience that’s really invaluable, and I just want to be able to do it again.”
The other part of building that experience will be to build on his performance from last year and come back stronger this year. Kuemper posted his worst numbers statistically since entering the NHL, dealing with a few injuries and ultimately losing his starting spot in Washington.
He didn’t shy away from a challenging season. In fact, he seemed quite motivated to make last season a one-off, not a norm. His performance over the first several seasons was at a high level. He was a professional during the changes in Washington, but he’s fired up and ready to deliver this season with the Kings.
“Hockey-wise, it was really tough, it was really frustrating at times,” Kuemper said. “I just kept working and even though I couldn’t play much, I came to work every day, worked on my game and I’m looking forward to starting fresh next year. Then I can just play the way I like to play again, prove that last year was just an exception and get a lot of wins and help the team.”
I liked the line “Proof that last year was just a one-time thing.”
Words are cheap until they’re put into action. Time will tell, but it’s definitely a positive to get a guy who is excited to return to Los Angeles, who appreciates playing here and who is determined and motivated to have a comeback season. We can only hope that by banking on those elements of his character, as Rob Blake mentioned on Wednesday, the Kings made the right choice to complete their goaltending duo.
