Darcy Kuemper Bio
Darcy Kuemper is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born on May 5, 1990, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he was drafted 161st overall in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild. Over the course of his career, Kuemper has suited up for the Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, and Washington Capitals before returning to the Los Angeles Kings. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022 and later represented Canada internationally, capturing a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Championship and a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Early Life and Background
Darcy Kuemper was born on May 5, 1990, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to police officer Brent Kuemper and accountant Sharon Kuemper. Saskatoon is well known for its strong ice hockey community, and Kuemper began skating by the age of three. In his earliest youth hockey leagues, every player took turns in the net, and Kuemper always looked forward to his time in goal.
By the age of ten, he had decided to become a full-time goaltender. He explained that the position appealed to him because, unlike the other skaters who rotated on and off the ice in short shifts, the goaltender was engaged in the play from start to finish. As a child, Kuemper often played minor hockey alongside fellow Saskatoon natives Luke Schenn and Brayden Schenn, sharpening his skills in a competitive local environment.
Kuemper first drew notice as an adolescent playing for the Saskatoon Contacts and Saskatoon Blazers in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League. During the 2005-06 SMAAAHL season, he posted a 16-3 record while sharing the net and ranked third in the league with a 2.32 goals against average. In 2008, Kuemper and the Blazers came within one game of the SMAAAHL championship before falling to the Notre Dame Hounds in five games.
Path to Hockey
The Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League selected Kuemper 45th overall in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft, although he spent most of his development years continuing to play in Saskatoon. He appeared in goal for Spokane for a total of 19 seconds, relieving starting goaltender Dustin Tokarski at the end of a period during the 2007 WHL playoffs. On December 13, 2007, Spokane traded him to the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft.
Kuemper began his WHL career during the 2008-09 season as the backup to Morgan Clark on the Rebels. By the middle of that year, however, he had taken over as the everyday starter. Over three seasons in Red Deer, Kuemper established himself as one of the top junior goaltenders in North America.
In 2010-11, his final WHL campaign, Kuemper won the Del Wilson Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and was also named the CHL Goaltender of the Year after recording 45 wins, a 1.86 goals against average, and a .933 save percentage. That same year, the Minnesota Wild selected him 161st overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, setting the stage for his professional career.
Darcy Kuemper Career
Early Career (2011-2017)
On May 26, 2011, Kuemper signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild. He began the 2011-12 season on loan to the Ontario Reign of the ECHL before being recalled by the Wild in November 2011. His first extended NHL opportunity came in February 2013, when he was called up to provide relief in goal during a game against the Detroit Red Wings. Five days later, Kuemper stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn his first career NHL victory over Detroit.
Kuemper made his Stanley Cup playoff debut on May 7, 2013, replacing Josh Harding after a first-period injury against the Chicago Blackhawks. The following spring, he started game three of Minnesota’s 2014 first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche and posted a shutout. He remained the starter until he was injured in the third period of game seven, with Ilya Bryzgalov earning the win in overtime. After a difficult 2014-15 season in which Devan Dubnyk was acquired to take over the crease, Kuemper split backup duties with Niklas Bäckström.
Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes (2017-2021)
On July 1, 2017, Kuemper signed a one-year contract worth $650,000 with the Los Angeles Kings. He thrived in a backup role during the 2017-18 season, earning 10 wins in 19 appearances. On February 21, 2018, the Kings traded him to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goaltender Scott Wedgewood and forward Tobias Rieder. The Coyotes quickly re-signed Kuemper to a two-year, $3.7 million extension.
With Antti Raanta sidelined for much of the 2018-19 season, Kuemper set a career high with 55 appearances and posted a 27-20-8 record. His strong play earned him a fifth-place finish in voting for the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top goaltender. The Coyotes rewarded his consistency with a two-year, $9 million extension in October 2019.
In the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, Kuemper appeared in 29 games with a 16-11-2 record and a .928 save percentage. During the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, held in a bubble in Canada, he was the central figure in Arizona’s upset of the Nashville Predators in the qualifying round, posting a .933 save percentage across four games. In 2020-21, his final year in Arizona, Kuemper was limited to 27 games by a knee injury and finished with a .907 save percentage.
Colorado Avalanche Era (2021-2022)
On July 28, 2021, the Colorado Avalanche acquired Kuemper from the Coyotes in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 third-round pick, and defenceman Conor Timmins. He was brought in to replace Philipp Grubauer, who had left in free agency for the Seattle Kraken. After a slow start and a brief injury absence, Kuemper found his form and was outstanding down the stretch.
He finished the regular season with a career-high 37 wins, a 37-12-4 record, five shutouts, and a .921 save percentage, all of which ranked among the top five for NHL goaltenders that season. The Avalanche finished second overall in the league and met the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. Kuemper won his first two starts before being forced out of game three when a stick slipped through his mask and struck him in the eye, an injury that proved minor.
He returned for the second round and helped Colorado eliminate the St. Louis Blues in six games, reaching the Western Conference Final for the first time in 21 years. A subsequent upper-body injury forced him to miss early action against the Edmonton Oilers, but he returned as the Avalanche completed a sweep. Kuemper started every game of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning and stopped 22 of 23 shots in a series-clinching game six, winning the Stanley Cup and joining Patrick Roy as the only Avalanche goaltender to start, play in, and win a Final series.
Washington Capitals and Return to Los Angeles (2022-Present)
On July 13, 2022, Kuemper signed a five-year, $26.25 million free-agent contract with the Washington Capitals. He recorded his first shutout for Washington on October 29, 2022, in a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators. After two seasons with the Capitals, he was traded back to the Los Angeles Kings on June 19, 2024, in exchange for centre Pierre-Luc Dubois.
In the 2024-25 season, Kuemper appeared in 50 games for the Kings, going 31-11-7 while posting a 2.02 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. Los Angeles allowed the second-fewest goals in the league, and Kuemper was named a Vezina Trophy finalist for the first time in his career, finishing as a top-three candidate for the league’s top goaltender award.
Driving Style and Strengths
At six foot five, Kuemper uses his size to cover the lower portion of the net and to track pucks through heavy traffic. His calm, positionally sound approach allows him to handle high-danger chances, and his post-to-post movement has been a key factor in tight playoff series. Kuemper has built strong chemistry with several different goaltending coaches and systems over his career, demonstrating the adaptability required of a modern NHL starter.
Notable Events and Milestones
Kuemper’s signature moment came in game six of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, when he outdueled Andrei Vasilevskiy and stopped 22 of 23 shots to deliver the Avalanche their third championship in franchise history. He also produced a memorable 49-save performance for the Coyotes in the 2020 playoff bubble, one of the defining efforts of that unique postseason.
Darcy Kuemper Career Wins
Across his NHL career, Darcy Kuemper has built a steady record of regular-season and playoff victories with four organizations. While exact career win totals change with each active season, his strongest stretches have come with the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19 and with the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22, when he set a personal best with 37 wins in a single regular season.
NHL Regular Season Highlights
Kuemper earned his first NHL win on February 17, 2013, making 29 saves against the Detroit Red Wings. He later set a career high with 37 wins for the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22, a season in which he finished among the top five NHL goaltenders in victories, save percentage, and shutouts. In 2024-25, his 31 wins with the Los Angeles Kings helped the team allow the second-fewest goals in the league.
Playoff and Postseason Performances
Kuemper made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in May 2013 and has appeared in several postseasons since. His most memorable playoff run came in 2022, when he backstopped the Avalanche through three rounds and the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That same spring, he started and won every game of the Cup Final, cementing his place among Colorado’s most decorated netminders.
Other Wins and Performances
Kuemper won a gold medal with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, posting a .916 save percentage in eight games. He added a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, after being named to Team Canada’s roster on December 31, 2025. Earlier in his development, he was named the WHL’s top goaltender and the CHL Goaltender of the Year in 2010-11.
Darcy Kuemper Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Darcy Kuemper is the son of Brent Kuemper, a police officer, and Sharon Kuemper, an accountant. He grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, a city that has produced a long list of notable hockey players, including the Schenn brothers, with whom he played minor hockey as a child.
Personal Life
Kuemper has kept much of his personal life out of the public eye, and detailed information about a spouse or children is not widely confirmed in available sources. His family in Saskatoon has remained a steady presence throughout his professional career.
2025 Season Performance
The 2024-25 NHL season marked Darcy Kuemper’s return to the Los Angeles Kings and the most decorated regular season of his career. He appeared in 50 games and posted a 31-11-7 record, a 2.02 goals against average, and a .922 save percentage, finishing second in the league in goals against average and third in save percentage. The Kings allowed the second-fewest goals in the NHL that season, a reflection of the structure in front of Kuemper and his own consistency between the pipes.
Kuemper’s play was rewarded with his first-ever nomination as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top goaltender. The selection came after years of strong but understated work, and it confirmed his standing among the league’s elite netminders heading into the next stage of his career.
Looking ahead, Kuemper is under contract with the Los Angeles Kings through the 2026-27 season. He is also expected to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where he will look to add to his gold medal from the 2021 World Championship. With his Vezina-caliber form and a contending roster in front of him, Kuemper remains a central figure in the Kings’ championship outlook.
