Toronto Maple Leafs: Finding a Good Goalie at a Discount

Could the Toronto Maple Leafs settle the crease by acquiring Darcy Kuemper?

Seemingly no stone ever going unturned, Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas has demonstrated his willingness to venture into areas that leave the rest of us scratching our heads wondering, “What the hell are you thinking?” Such is the case with rumors of interest in goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

Now a quarter way through the 2021 off-season, Dubas has done some in-house cleaning by re-signing Spezza, Simmonds, and Dermott and has also made a trade,  acquiring Jared McCann for Filip Hallander and a 7th round pick right before the roster freeze.

But, we’re still waiting for the fireworks, and it’s no secret that one of the Toronto Maple Leafs #1 needs going into the off-season was to find a goaltender to complement Jack Campbell and that hasn’t changed.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Darcy Kuemper

Darcy Kuemper, has one year left on a contract that pays him $4.5 million, and If the Leafs are indeed in talks to obtain Darcy Kuemper, you can be sure Dubas is pressing for the Coyotes to retain a percentage of the cap hit.

With the amount of quality goalies available on the UFA market, it seems absurd to think trading for a goalie is the bright idea, but when you can get a Darcy Kuemper at a low rate it makes total sense. The associated cost might be high, but the willingness of a team to retain cap space in the flat-cap era holds a lot of value for teams tight against the cap with a closing window.

For the Leafs to acquire him at a reduced number, surely, the Coyotes, and maybe another team, will command a high price in exchange for, not just a 6’5 high-caliber goaltender with 242 games of experience but for facilitating the Leafs circumvention of the cap.

But, because the Leafs don’t have much draft capital (beyond Round 2, the Leafs have three picks – 5th, 6th, and 7th – in the next two drafts combined), any transaction is going to fall heavily on the Leafs’ pool of youth.

The cost to acquire Kuemper – who has a major injury history, but provides excellent goaltending when healthy – may not be all that high, and it is more likely that getting salary retention on any deal would be more costly than the player.  Still, you wouldn’t think Kuemper would command very much in a trade due to all the injuries.   

Getting a goalie who can share the crease with Jack Campbell is priortiy for the Leafs, but doing so at a reasonable cap hit is key.