The Washington Capitals are going to have a very different goaltending tandem next season.
The team traded Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils at the 2022 NHL Draft and opted not to tender Ilya Samsonov a qualifying offer ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
The expectation for the Capitals is that they will be signing free agent goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Frank Seravalli expects the deal will wind up somewhere in the range of $5.5 million annually over five years.
Kuemper was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche last summer from the Arizona Coyotes as a replacement for Philipp Grubauer, who left in free agency to sign with the Seattle Kraken. Kuemper put up a .921 save percentage for the Avs over 57 regular-season games and he helped the team win their first Stanley Cup since 2001.
Finding a legitimate starting goaltender was a priority for the Capitals after a 2021-22 season that featured both Samsonov and Vanecek struggling to grab the starter’s job. Samsonov posted an .896 save percentage in 44 games and Vanecek put up a .908 save percentage in 40 games.
Both Samsonov and Vanecek started for the Capitals in their first-round playoff loss to the Florida Panthers and combined to post an .899 save percentage.
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