Report: Leafs like Kuemper a lot, but the cost to acquire him with retained salary is high

Priority number one for the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason remains a quality partner for goaltender Jack Campbell with whom to share the crease.

The Leafs have been rumoured to have had interest in Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper for quite some time now, but with a $4.5M cap hit, Kuemper might just be an asset that the Leafs are unable to afford, unless they can convince Yotes retain some salary.

The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta has confirmed that the Coyotes may indeed be willing to eat some of Kuemper's salary, as long as the price is right. According to Pagnotta, however, the price is "quite high".

Kuemper had a bit of a down year in Arizona last season, posting a 2.56 GAA and a .907 SV% in 27 starts, but aside from that, his previous two seasons were quite strong.

In 2019-20, Kuemper posted a 2.22 GAA and a .928 SV% in 29 starts. Just one year prior, he posted a 2.33 GAA and a .925 SV% across 55 starts.

The real conundrum here for the Leafs is; what do you give up for a 31-year-old coming off of a down year on a bad Coyotes team when he doesn't have any term remaining?

I think you can strike off the list any blue chip prospects and high draft picks. Does a 2nd round pick and a B prospect get the job done? Hard to say, but likely not, while the Coyotes are looking to stockpile premium assets for their rebuild.

This one remains a situation to watch closely as we approach the opening of free agency on July 28th. Perhaps if the Leafs can lure someone like Buffalo's Linus Ullmark in for pure cap dollars, it would negate the need to do a deal with Arizona for a guy like Kuemper.

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