Kuemper Reflects On His Tenure With Capitals: 'Really Tough, Really Frustrating At Times'

For Darcy Kuemper, his trade from the Washington Capitals to the Los Angeles Kings came as quite a surprise.

Kuemper, for one, was taking a shower and oblivious to the brewing headlines on what had been a relatively quiet Wednesday when his wife, Sydney, interrupted: "I think we got traded."

That he had, as the 34-year-old netminder was headed to the Kings in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

"It was kind of a strange way to find out, but it was a lot to process, but we're both really excited for the move," Kuemper told reporters via Zoom in his first media availability since the trade. "We got some logistical stuff to figure out, but for the hockey stuff, we're super excited."

Related: Yes, Pierre-Luc Dubois Has A Reputation And Comes With Risk. But That Gamble May Just Be Worth It — And More — For The Capitals

It was supposed to be a different road for Kuemper, who'd signed a five-year deal in July 2022 to be D.C.'s go-to man in net for the long haul. However, things didn't go according to plan.

Looking back at his two years in the District, Kuemper didn't shy away from expressing his disappointment with how things went. In 2022-23, he appeared in 57 games and posted a .909 save percentage as his team missed out on the playoffs. Then, this past year, he posted a career-worst .890 save percentage and appeared in just 33 games while losing the starting job to Charlie Lindgren.

Kuemper said it was difficult to sit and watch from the bench while his numbers, which had been consistent over the course of his career before arriving in D.C., took a hit.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"Hockey-wise it was really tough, it was really frustrating at times," Kuemper noted. "Obviously weren’t winning as many games as I would like and not playing as much and that’s always tough to deal with. But I just tried to keep working through it, and although I didn’t get to play a lot I came to work every day, continued to work on my game."

For Kuemper and Dubois, it'll be a chance to hit reset, and Kuemper is ready to capitalize on that opportunity.

"I'm looking forward to the fresh start next year and just getting back to playing how I like to play and proving that last year was just a one-off and getting a bunch of wins and helping the team," Kuemper said.