The Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes have completed a pre-deadline deal that will see Darcy Kuemper head to Arizona in exchange for forward Tobias Rieder and goaltender Scott Wedgewood, according to Bob McKenzie.
| Going to Los Angeles | Going to Arizona |
| G Darcy Kuemper | F Tobias Rieder |
| G Scott Wedgewood |
McKenzie also reported that the Coyotes will retain 15 percent of Rieder’s contract – which is in its final year with an annual average value of $2.225 million dollars.
Kuemper to the Coyotes
In Kuemper, the Coyotes get a goalie who can split time with Antti Raanta for the remainder of the season and beyond that as the team extended Kuemper for another two years.
The extension carries an AAV of $1.85 million – which is a raise over his past contract that saw him carry an AAV of $1.25 million over the past two seasons.
Kuemper played in 19 games this season for the Kings behind Jonathan Quick and tallied a 10-1-3 record over that span. He recorded three shutouts on his way to a 2.10 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
Over his six-year career, Kuemper has a 51-35-17 record in 121 games between the Kings and Minnesota Wild. As for the rest of his career numbers, they aren’t that bad either. He carries a .913 save percentage along with a 2.52 goals against average.
He finished 16th in Calder Trophy voting during his rookie season back in 2013-14 at the age of 23.
Even though the Coyotes grab a solid second goalie, the acquisition of Kuemper isn’t expected to change Raanta’s status with the team. As McKenzie reports, both Raanta and the Coyotes are interested in extending his deal in Arizona, and it shouldn’t change following this trade.
Rieder, Wedgewood Now Kings
As for the Kings, they were able to pick up a young forward in Rieder while securing a backup to replace Kuemper in Wedgewood.
In Rieder, the Kings get a pending restricted free agent (RFA) who’s contract is set to expire this summer. In four seasons with the Coyotes, Rieder tallied 51 goals and 111 points in 292 regular season games and he’s just 25 years old.
While he’s played his entire career so far with the Coyotes, Rieder is yet to play in the NHL postseason, but could help the Kings who are in the hunt for a postseason berth.
As for Wedgewood, he’s in just his second season in the NHL having spent time with New Jersey back in 2015-16 when he played just four games for the Devils.
This season, however, the 25-year-old netminder played in 20 games for the Coyotes with a 5-9-4 record with a .893 save percentage and 3.45 goals against average.
While his number this season aren’t great, his career numbers are slightly better. His record is still below .500 at 7-10-5, while his .903 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average are mediocre at best.
While this isn’t a headlining trade, it’s a small precursor to what could be a busy NHL deadline next week.
