#4. Darcy Kuemper
Current Status: Signed until 2021-22 season ($4.5 million cap-hit)
The Arizona Coyotes have Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta signed for a combined $8.75 million next season. Although that’s less than what some goaltenders make on their own, the Coyotes could make Kuemper expendable if the price is right.
The Coyotes desperately need scoring help. Although they traded for Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall, Kessel was a shell of himself this season and Hall could walk in free agency. Daily Faceoff ranked the Coyotes with the 23rd best first-line and 26th best second-line, so the team could really use some help up-front.
The Toronto Maple Leafs would be a great trade partner for Arizona for a number of reasons. The Coyotes currently have Marian Hossa on their books at $5.275M , and although it doesn’t account to their salary cap, they’re paying for him. For a team that has struggled financially over the years, I’m sure Arizona would love that off their books, while the Leafs can always afford to take on a contract like that.
Similar to what they did with David Clarkson and Nathan Horton, the Leafs would be more than happy to pay Hossa’s contract if it meant upgrading their goaltending. Kuemper has been a steady goaltender for the last few years with similar stats to Andersen, so for $500K less it may be worth trading for.
Also, the fact that Kuemper has two years left on his deal instead of one is huge based on how the Leafs cap clears significantly in the 2022-23 season.