Darcy Kuemper did not have the stuff this season.
By the Numbers
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| 33 | games played |
| .890 | all-situation save percentage |
| 96.0 | expected goals by opponents, all strengths |
| 103 | actual goals by opponents, all strengths |
| -7.0 | goals saved above expected |
Isolated Impact by HockeyViz
About this visualization: This series of charts made by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com show how likely to become a goal shots are from different locations on the ice against this goalie. If the hexagon dot is red, then the goalie is weaker against those shots compared to league average. If the hexagon dot is blue, then the goalie is better against those shots. Blue is good; red is bad.
Fan Happiness Survey
About this visualization: At three times during the season, RMNB shared an open survey with fans, asking the following question for each player: “On a scale from 1 to 5, how HAPPY are you to have this player on the team?” The numbers above show the average score for the player in each survey period.
Peter’s Take
Well, here’s another bummer. Kuemper hadn’t really had a bad season before this. Depending on your reckoning, he saved somewhere between two and seven goals worse than expected, which is based on the volume and quality of opponents’ offense. That’s not a terrible performance, but compared to Charlie Lindgren’s excellence, it was a no-brainer to remove DK from the starting spot.
The biggest problem was bad timing. Kuemper played his worst when the Capitals were defending a lead. When the Caps were up by one goal, Kuemper saved .877, giving up 19 leads. (Kuemper and Lindgren had about the same goal support in those situations.) So not only Kuemper not very good, his not-very-good-ness came at the least convenient times for his team.
Personally, I’m not sweating it. Kuemper is 34, and age along with contract size are his biggest deficits, but the likelihood of a bounce-back is high for a player with his track record. I’d say the chances are about even that Kuemper’s stats are better than Lindgren’s next season. The bigger question is for which team will each be playing.
Player Summary by ChatGPT
Darcy Kuemper is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a town famous for two shining titans of professional ice hockey: legendary coach Mike Babcock and legendary musician Joni Mitchell. While neither Babcock nor Mitchell played goaltending, where Kuemper’s shining numbers suffered a shattering disappointment in the latest campaign, they were still legendary in their own rights. Babcock’s Red Wings won the Cup they call Stanley in the 2007-08 campaign, and Joni Mitchell wrote “Down to You.” Neither Babcock nor Mitchell were members of the shining Colorado Avalanche crew of 2021-22, who won the Stanley’s Cup in the 2021-22 campaign, but Kuemper has not coached Team Canada nor has he performed with Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and Charles Mingus.
DK on RMNB
- At the start of the season, Kuemper became a dad. He missed the first game of the season.
- I can’t explain this one:
New dad Darcy Kuemper celebrates Capitals shootout win by rocking imaginary baby in arms
- Darcy had one very bad first period in early November.
- He suffered an injury a week later but was healthy enough to serve as back up a few nights later.
- A day later he got banged up for real. He was starting games again one week later.
- By the time December started, the starting goalie role was officially in flux.
- After a benching, Kuemper and Spencer Carbery had a long talk, but it’s off-limits. “I’ve talked to Kuemps quite a bit,” Carbery said. “In that specific circumstance, I think I’ll keep it between us.”
- Kuemper and Lindgren alike were the subjects of trade buzz as we neared the deadline. It was considered.
- He started few games in March as Lindgren locked down the starting position.
- He did not play in his own bobblehead night.
- In early April there was another injury scare.
- Now, again, Kuemper is in trade rumors.
- On those rumors: “Don’t pay attention till it happens. There’s always going to be rumors floating around, so you just kind of wait to see if anything happens, I guess. You can’t really get caught up in worrying about things that are speculative.”
Your Turn
Should the Caps trade Kuemper? If not, will he bounce back?
