Darcy Kuemper Signs a Two-Year Contract With Wild

After a long negotiation, the Minnesota Wild have agreed to terms on a two-year, one-way contract with goaltender Darcy Kuemper. The contract carries a AAV of $1.25 million, with Kuemper getting $1 million in the first year and $1.5 million in the second year, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

Michael Russo is quoting Kuemper as saying, “I’m super excited to continue this journey with the Wild and can’t wait to see and get back on the ice with my teammates.” Russo also said that Kuemper plans on arriving in Minnesota tomorrow, the first on-ice day of training camp.

Russo added that general manager Chuck Fletcher said that the signing of Kuemper does not effect the tryout status of Ilya Bryzgalov, who was signed to a professional tryout yesterday. Bryzgalov has been brought in because presumed starter Josh Harding will miss 2-3 months due to a fractured toe sustained in non-hockey activity, which he has been suspended for.

As noted in our training camp preview, the team will be split into three units for the first time under Fletcher and Mike Yeo. Presumably the three units will have Kuemper, Bryzgalov, and Niklas Backstrom as their netminders for scrimmages. The team also has goaltenders John Curry, Johan Gustafsson, Alexandre Belanger, and invitee Brandon Whitney on the training camp roster.

Kuemper had a rocky start to last season in his first two appearances was stellar when he returned in January. In the end he had a record of 12-8-4 with a 2.43 goals against average, and .915 save percentage during the regular season. In the postseason he had a record of 3-1-1 with a 2.03 GAA, and a .913 SV%, and basically won Game 7 of the first round, even though Bryzgalov technically got the win. (Kuemper left with a concussion in the third period. Bryzgalov came in, made one save, and was on the ice when the game-winner was scored, so he got the win.)

Kuemper ends up getting the one-way deal he was reported to want, at slightly higher than Bob McKenzie had earlier reported he was asking. I’d assume that the extra money is to make this contract a two-year deal instead of a one-year. It’s a good deal for the Wild, who have had many goaltending woes lately. The Harding situation shows you can’t trust the goaltending situation in Minnesota and the team is better served to have Kuemper under contract than to let this drag out any longer.

Despite this being a one-way deal, Kuemper can still be sent to Iowa without waivers, but he’ll be paid his NHL salary. That means that a signing of Bryzgalov isn’t out of the question, though I’d argue it’s maybe not how the team is best served. Kuemper can still play 14 more NHL games before his waiver exemption disappears and he’d have to clear waivers before being sent down to the AHL.