[Trade] Darcy Kuemper to Arizona

[Avalanche_Ambush]

Pretty good trade for both teams in my opinion. I do have to think that Arizona thinks they won't be able to re-sign Raanta or that he's priced himself above what they're willing to pay him based on his play this year. That being said theres only a handful of teams that a Raanta trade could make sense because of their current goalie issues. I'll rank the teams based on how big a need they have to upgrade their goalie depth (my opinion):

1.NY Islanders: They're a high scoring team on the playoff bubble and have had inconsistent goaltending all year... and greiss was just placed on IR. They need to show Tavares they're trying to improve the club.
2.Ottawa: With Anderson having an awful season, being almost 37yrs old and sens not having much in goalie prospects, they may look to nab him for their present/future.
3.Edmonton: After the abysmal season they've had and the struggles Talbot has had allowing early goals in games often he may have lost the trust of management.
4.Chicago: Crawford's a star but being 33 with injury issues and a big contract on a team at the cap, maybe they look to reunite with the much younger/cheaper Raanta.
5.Buffalo: Lehner has showed flashes of strong play but very much inconsistent. When they signed him to a 1 year contract last summer after posting a .920sv% it seems like they weren't overly confident in him as a long term solution. They do have Linus Omark and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the system.

[Eskimo Brother]

I agree with you about Rieder but I'd say Kuemper is better than Wedgewood and has some upside. Unlikely, but it's there.

For sure. We're on the same page. Reider had more value than that, and Kuemper is better than Wedgewood.
I guess my main sticking point here is that the upgrade from Wedgewood to Kuemper wasn't worth Reider, both based on talent disparity, and organizational need.

[ericdaoust]

For sure. We're on the same page. Reider had more value than that, and Kuemper is better than Wedgewood.
I guess my main sticking point here is that the upgrade from Wedgewood to Kuemper wasn't worth Reider, both based on talent disparity, and organizational need.

I'm more in the "meh" category. They improved in one area and took a step backwards in another. It'll all depend on what they do this summer. Lots of players move around in the offseason.

Same shit, different pile.

[gooding74]

Some great thoughts here. I've posted my fantasy impact of the trade:

https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home...and-wedgewood/

[Chunkys_Choice]

Does Rieder vacating Arizona leave the door wide open for Dylan Strome to finally come in and take a roster spot?

[hockeymanG23]

Does Rieder vacating Arizona leave the door wide open for Dylan Strome to finally come in and take a roster spot?

I doubt it. An extra forward spot may create an opportunity but they play a different position and Dylan is still held back by the Strome family skating gene as far as I know.

[Axeman33]

Eklund is spouting off that NYI are kicking tires hard on Raanta which is what precipitated this move. I see it as more of a move to solidify their goaltending. Raanta's been really decent this year all things considered with that team. I think they resign him Chayka hasn't been looking for just kids to fill his line up. still not sure he's got a full plan for this team

But is it an e5 rumor?

[ShawneePanthers]

Hard to predict at this point. Would make complete sense if Raanta was moved at the deadline or at the end of the year. Makes less sense if Raanta stays.

[Pengwin7]

For me, this trade establishes enough pattern to get a read on Chayka.
I think he has witnessed several goalies flourish in the right setting over the past two years.
Look at Dubnyk in MIN, Darling in CHI, or Dell in SJ, or Talbot in NYR (and his first years in EDM), now Hutton in STL.
These are all 25-30yr old "back-up" goalies. (*Hutton just turned 32.)

I've long argued that goalies play well in Arizona because of the "no pressure" atmosphere there.
Watching Chayka cycle in goalies suggests he believes that eventually one goalie will settle in and play well in this environment, he just needs to find that guy...
Domingue(25), Wedgewood(25), Raanta(28), Kuemper(27). All within that 25-30yr range.
Throw some poop at the wall and see if any sticks.
Eventually, some will. And when that happens, its like hitting the right penny stock and that's the only one the investor will always reference!

[2014olympicgold]

For me, this trade establishes enough pattern to get a read on Chayka.
I think he has witnessed several goalies flourish in the right setting over the past two years.
Look at Dubnyk in MIN, Darling in CHI, or Dell in SJ, or Talbot in NYR (and his first years in EDM), now Hutton in STL.
These are all 25-30yr old "back-up" goalies. (*Hutton just turned 32.)

I've long argued that goalies play well in Arizona because of the "no pressure" atmosphere there.
Watching Chayka cycle in goalies suggests he believes that eventually one goalie will settle in and play well in this environment, he just needs to find that guy...
Domingue(25), Wedgewood(25), Raanta(28), Kuemper(27). All within that 25-30yr range.
Throw some poop at the wall and see if any sticks.
Eventually, some will. And when that happens, its like hitting the right penny stock and that's the only one the investor will always reference!

With goalies this makes a ton of sense for a team to do. Don't really go painstakingly hunting for "the guy", if you try it enough eventually one will work. Just the big thing is reputation of not giving a goalie a chance may set in and goalies (maybe players) will take that to heart in FA, but that's way down the road for this team.

[ericdaoust]

It's all fine to aim to bring in goalies that fit in their low-pressure environment. I'd have higher goals if I were GM. I wouldn't want my team to be an afterthought. I'd be trying to turn my team into one that is taken seriously which in turn puts more pressure on the goalies to perform. I'm just not wired for loser town.

[BreadManPanarin]

Watching Chayka cycle in goalies suggests he believes that eventually one goalie will settle in and play well in this environment, he just needs to find that guy...

Could any goalie play better on the Coyotes than Raanta has this year? 2.45 GAA and .924 save% is great for a goalie on any team. On this team that has been basically a stink fest for most of the year... it is deserving of a medal or something.

I think Chayka found "that guy" already. The real questions are whether that guy is willing to stay in AZ, and whether AZ is willing to make it happen financially.

Edit, as a reference point:
Jonathan Quick 2.48 GAA .921 Save%
Mike Smith 2.53 GAA .921 save%
Frederick Andersen 2.66 GAA .923 Save%
Connor Hellebuyck 2.37 GAA .922 Save%

[Jouko-Pouko]

And now LA has put Wedgewood on waivers which means they're going with Jack Campbell as their backup. I guess Wedgewood was just a contract dump.

[ericdaoust]

Essentially Quick will be playing just about every game moving forward.