The Washington Capitals traded goaltender Darcy Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. This 1-for-1 trade aims to give both players a fresh start after struggling in the past season. The Capitals are not only looking to improve their offense with Dubois but are also making a clear choice for their starting goaltender.
General Manager MacLellan expressed his excitement about acquiring Dubois, highlighting the help he can bring to the team’s offense. He also mentioned that Charlie Lindgren’s strong performance played a significant role in initiating the trade.
The Capitals thanked Kuemper for his contributions and wished him well in Los Angeles. They also expressed confidence in Lindgren, signing him as the new backup goaltender after he delivered a strong performance in the past season.
Kuemper had signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract with the Capitals in July 2022, while Lindgren signed a three-year deal worth $1.1 million per season to be the new backup goaltender.
12 Comments
Not a big fan of current PLD, but am a big fan of what he can be. If anyone can bring the star out of him it’s carbary. I really hope this goes well because he could be a beast for us. Let’s hope
He's had 4 changes now so no that's not the case fire everyone who sanctioned this trade. Awful for the Caps
Kuemper was awful in Washington. Losing his contract at any cost was a good idea. He's never starting #1 over Charlie Lindgren. He needs a fresh start elsewhere. Washington needs a backup who can effectively spell Lindgren.
I think this is the definition of a neutral move. Not great by any means but I won’t call it bad either. DK was just awful for the caps and he had 3 years left on his deal at $5.25mil each while currently being 34yo. There was no way to move his contract. I also think hanging on to him could have forced Shepard or Stevenson to maybe push for a trade so they can get their chance which they both deserve. PLD while has had a lot of ups and down in his career but at soon to be 26yo I’ll happily pay an extra $3mil a year to see what he has. At least with PLD maybe Carbs can pull that 20G/60PT player out of him. I’m sure it’s better than what DK was going to be able to provide. I’d also rather pay PLD $8.5mil than Backstrom $9mil next year. Hopefully this isn’t the “big move” of the offseason but I think it’s a good start.
Man I've read so much from the Kings fans…. Not one positive thing, they can't even believe it, and statements.of him causing drama….um, He sounds like their KUZY but worse…. The irony ….
PLD will be a superstar for the Caps!! Let’s Go!!!!
Hopefully he can reach his potential and become what he was supposed to be. Lots of risk with this addition, but gotta be optimistic with any new player. Hope he can be that player they're hoping for
I don't know much about Pierre-Luc Dubois but unloading Kuemper is great as far as I can tell. We spent so much money to bring in a decent goalie and it didn't work. Now we have a good stable of goalies so if we can get a goal scorer, why not?
Thanks Dan for the update!
The only thing i can think of is the fact that hes been "excited" to play for every team hes been traded to aince "the shift" in Columbus. Hes gonna have to jump to a higher level for the caps. Fans will give him a chance, but will sour quickly if he cant put together two solid seasons.
Only giving up Kuemper is good. It's just the cap hit for a long time I'm worried about. However, 17.5m comes off the board in 2 seasons with Ovevhkin and Carlson. I hate to say it but I think the Caps should let Carlson go after that and he may retire anyway. They'll be on LTIR anyway but Backy and Oshie's contracts expire after this season. You can't use LTIR in the offseason though so that frees up a lot of money in the offseason too. The cap hit of PLD is not a big deal IMO
I think it’s a gamble…but one worth taking. Now we can move one of our goalies up to the big team, and we get a skilled center. If he wears out his welcome in a few years, we’ll have to deal with it then…