Darcy Kuemper

Darcy Kuemper (born May 5, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted 161st overall by the Minnesota Wild in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL entry draft, he has also suited up for the Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, and Washington Capitals. Kuemper won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022. On the international stage, he earned a gold medal with Canada at the 2021 World Championship and a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Kuemper was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to Brent, a police officer, and Sharon, an accountant. Growing up in a city with a strong hockey culture, he started skating at age three. In youth leagues, players rotated through the goaltender position, and Kuemper always enjoyed his turns. At ten, he committed to being a full-time goalie, drawn to the position because, unlike skaters who change on the fly, the goalie stays in the action constantly. As a child, he played minor hockey alongside fellow Saskatoon natives Luke and Brayden Schenn.

His skills first gained notice playing for the Saskatoon Contacts and Blazers in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL). During the 2005–06 season, splitting time in net for the Contacts with Carl Jahrus, Kuemper posted a 16-3 record and finished third in the league with a 2.32 goals-against average (GAA). In 2008, his Blazers came within one win of the SMAAAHL championship, falling to the Notre Dame Hounds in five games.

The Spokane Chiefs selected Kuemper 45th overall in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft. However, he spent most of his time under contract playing in Saskatoon as a prospect, logging just 19 seconds of game action with Spokane—relieving starter Dustin Tokarski at the end of a period during the 2007 WHL playoffs. On December 13, 2007, Spokane traded him to the Red Deer Rebels for a conditional 2009 WHL Bantam Draft pick. Kuemper began the 2008–09 season backing up Morgan Clark but took over as the Rebels’ everyday starter midway through the year. Over three seasons with Red Deer, he won the Del Wilson Trophy as the WHL’s top goaltender in 2010–11, along with the CHL Goaltender of the Year award, after posting 45 wins, a 1.86 GAA, and a .933 save percentage.

Kuemper signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild on May 26, 2011. He was loaned to the ECHL’s Ontario Reign on October 13, 2011, and recalled by the Wild on November 12, 2011. On February 12, 2013, with backup Josh Harding sidelined by complications from multiple sclerosis treatment, the Wild recalled Kuemper to relieve Harding and starter Niklas Bäckström. Five days later, on February 17, he made 29 saves on 31 shots for his first NHL win, against the Detroit Red Wings.

Recalled again on May 1, 2013, to back up Harding, Kuemper made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut on May 7 after Harding left a game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a leg injury. In the 2014 playoffs, he started Game 3 of the Wild’s first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, replacing Ilya Bryzgalov, and recorded a shutout. He continued starting until sustaining an injury in the third period of Game 7; Bryzgalov replaced him and got the win in overtime.

The following season, Kuemper opened as Minnesota’s starter after Bryzgalov left and Harding was unavailable, but he struggled, and the Wild traded for Devan Dubnyk, who took over as starter. Kuemper and Niklas Bäckström then split backup duties.

On July 1, 2017, Kuemper signed a one-year, $650,000 contract with the Los Angeles Kings. In 2017–18, he thrived as a backup, earning 10 wins in 19 appearances. On February 21, 2018, the Kings traded him to the Arizona Coyotes for goaltender Scott Wedgewood and forward Tobias Rieder. The Coyotes immediately signed him to a two-year, $3.7 million extension.

With Antti Raanta injured for most of 2018–19, Kuemper played a career-high 55 games, posting a 27–20–8 record and finishing fifth in Vezina Trophy voting. On October 2, 2019, Arizona signed him to a two-year, $9 million extension. In 2019–20, he appeared in 29 games with a 16–11–2 record and .928 save percentage before the regular season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs held in a bubble in Canada, Kuemper was seen as the key to the Coyotes’ qualifying-round victory over the Nashville Predators, posting a .933 save percentage across four games in which the Predators outshot the Coyotes each time. Arizona then advanced to face the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.