The Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings came together this week to complete a pretty significant trade. Washington acquired forward Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Kings in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who spent 19 games with Los Angeles during the 2018-19 season.
Both teams got pieces they were looking for. While Dubois struggled during his first and only season in Los Angeles, he's still capable of being a 50-point player in the NHL and could find some success next season alongside Alexander Ovechkin.
As for the Kings, they needed help between the pipes BADLY. During their first round series against the Edmonton Oilers, which they lost in five games, the Kings allowed a whopping 22 goals. With their starter from the 2023-24 season, Cam Talbot, hitting free agency on July 1st, Rob Blake addressed that area of need well in advance by acquiring Kuemper.
""It was tough to have it be so short because of how much I enjoyed the organization, living there, playing with the guys," Kuemper said on Friday. "So, I'm excited to be back. I had a lot of success with Bill Ranford and the goalie staff. I'm looking forward to getting back to work with them, joining the team and helping us get wins."
With two starting goaltenders on the move in the last week (Kuemper to Los Angeles; Markstrom to New Jersey), it's going to be interesting to see how the market for netminders develops as we head towards the draft and free agency. Boston's Linus Ullmark and Nashville's Juuse Saros are two names to keep an eye on.
