Darcy Kuemper being strongly linked to Metro Division contender and it could spell disaster for the Leafs
With the market for goalies drying up by the minute, the Leafs may be coming down to the wire with only one single UFA option; their own Jack Campbell. Campbell has been very vocal about his interest in remaining with the Leafs, but the management group has not been as public with their interest in Campbell.
Well, now things are approaching potential unmitigated disaster as their other primary UFA target, Darcy Kuemper, is being strongly linked to a Metro Division heavyweight.
According to TSN's Chris Johnston, "all signs point to Kuemper signing with the Washington Capitals". This comes, of course, just a day after the Caps shipped off goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils.
If true, Dubas had better have an ace up his sleeve when it comes to netminders on the trade market, because if it comes down to a bidding war between the Leafs and the Oilers on Wednesday, even if they win, they still lose. Campbell had begun the offseason reportedly looking for a multi-year deal in the $4M-$4.5M range. With the market drying up as quickly as it has, Campbell's most recent reported ask is in the neighborhood of $5M per season, which should only go up if the Oilers get a chance to bid.
As tough as it is to stomach, the only way to stop the bleeding right now would be for the Leafs to sign Campbell before free agency opens up on Wednesday, which might mean paying a little more than they're comfortable with. The biggest issue is that nobody can even seem to confirm if the Leafs have even made a counter offer to Campbell as of yet. By the looks of things, it was the Leafs' intention to move on from Campbell this summer, but now they seem to be running out of potential replacement candidates.
There are 4 days remaining until free agency opens up, so we'll almost certainly be hearing that talks have begun with the Campbell camp in the coming days. It's either that or Dubas will have to begin working the phones to inquire about goalies who may be available via trade, but negotiating out of desperation is never a good way to go.
