Kuemper returns with Capitals to visit Avalanche after 'special year'

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Darcy Kuemper smiled last week at the thought of returning to Ball Arena to face the Colorado Avalanche with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET: SN1, ALT, NBCSWA, ESPN+, SN NOW).

Kuemper played one season with Colorado, but it ended with the 32-year-old goalie lifting the Stanley Cup last June, giving him a lifetime appreciation of his brief tenure there and fueling his desire to do it again with Washington.
"It was a pretty special year," Kuemper said. "It was only one year, but it's going to be a lot of fun just to be back there. Obviously, some of the best moments of my life were last year."
Kuemper and the Capitals will look to rebound after he allowed four goals on 18 shots and was pulled in the second period of a 6-2 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. But there haven't been many nights like that this season for Kuemper, who signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract ($5.25 million average annual value) with Washington on July 13.
In 31 games (all starts), Kuemper is 14-12-4 with a 2.55 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and an NHL-leading five shutouts. With Washington dealing with a host of injuries early in the season, it took Kuemper a little time to adjust after changing teams for the second straight offseason.
He is 9-3-3 with a 2.29 GAA, .925 save percentage and four shutouts in 16 games since Nov. 23, though, helping to push the Capitals (25-18-6) into the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"The first time you change teams is definitely a unique experience and a big change of scenery," Kuemper said. "But once you've gone through it and realize how accepting groups can be, especially this group, it made it so easy to come in here."

Kuemper went through a similar transition after being traded from the Arizona Coyotes to Colorado on July 28, 2021, for defenseman Conor Timmins, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The trade gave Kuemper the opportunity to play for a Stanley Cup contender after nine seasons in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings and Coyotes, and ended the Avalanche's search for a goalie to put them over the top in their quest for their first championship since 2001.
Kuemper was 37-12-4 with a 2.54 GAA, .921 save percentage and five shutouts in 57 regular-season games and 10-4 with a 2.57 GAA, .902 save percentage and one shutout in 16 playoff games.
"He had a big impact," Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said. "He was a big part of the team that we were able to win [with]. He made some really key saves. Off the ice, he was a really good guy, very positive. It didn't matter how his game went. He was always positive."
Kuemper twice missed time during the playoffs with injuries, including an upper-body injury that sidelined him for the final three games of a sweep against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final. But he returned to start all six games in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning and was 4-2 with a 2.45 GAA, .908 save percentage and one shutout.
"We had been going through a handful of goalies over the last few years in my time here," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We get him in a big trade. We had to give up a lot to get him, hoping he could be a guy that would be able to lead us to a championship. … 'Kuemps' did that."
When the Avalanche didn't have the NHL salary cap space to re-sign Kuemper, they amicably parted ways. Looking for a chance to win again, Kuemper signed with Washington, which won the Stanley Cup in 2018 but was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each season since.
Looking to revamp their goaltending after Ilya Samsonov signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vitek Vanecek was traded to the New Jersey Devils, the Capitals also signed backup Charlie Lindgren. Together with Lindgren, who carried the load for eight games after Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury against the Calgary Flames on Dec. 3, Kuemper has provided the stability in net the Capitals wanted.
"He's been terrific," coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's been great to work with. He comes to the rink with a great attitude. He works hard in practice. Both goaltenders, the same thing. They're great teammates. … Not knowing somebody, you don't know what you have until you get them, until you get to know them a little bit, but just really good additions to the team."

Nicolas Aube-Kubel already knew what Kuemper could do when the forward joined the Capitals after being claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs on Nov. 5. Aube-Kubel was teammates with Kuemper in Coloradoi last season and saw the impact he had during its Stanley Cup run.
"He was really important," said Aube-Kubel, who signed with Toronto after last season. "He was one of the best goalies in the League. I think he still is. You need a good goalie to win the Stanley Cup."
Kuemper's .921 save percentage since the start of the 2017-18 is first among goalies to have played at least 150 games, and his 2.45 GAA is second behind retired Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (2.36). But winning the Stanley Cup last season added more clout to Kuemper's resume and confidence to his play.
"His numbers are top five (in the League) over the last few years," Laviolette said. "You end up winning the Cup and having success, I definitely think that brings confidence for him and confidence for our team as well."
Kuemper and Aube-Kubel received their Stanley Cup rings and spent a few minutes with their former teammates following Colorado's 4-0 win at Washington on Nov. 19. But Kuemper was looking forward to having more time to catch up during the Capitals' two days off in Denver before they play Tuesday.
Facing the Avalanche once already will make playing against them Tuesday, if he starts again, feel a little less strange.
"It's always a little bit weird playing against your old team," Kuemper said, "so to get that first one out of the way is nice."
A victory against the Avalanche, who have won five in a row, would be a positive end to the Capitals' three-game road trip that began with Kuemper making 26 saves in a 4-0 win against the Coyotes on Thursday. Washington's 15-6-2 record since Dec. 5 has Kuemper believing the potential is there for another run at the Stanley Cup.
"I think the sky is the limit," he said. "We have a lot of guys who have won it all before and we have a lot of experience in this room, and we've shown what we can do when we're playing our best. Now, we've just got to be pushing to be at the top of our game for as many games as we can."
NHL.com independent correspondents Ryan Boulding and Aaron Vickers contributed to this report