Winners and Losers from Day 1 of NHL Free Agency Hours after losing their starting goaltender in free agency, the Colorado Avalanche have reportedly acquired goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a first-round pick and defenseman Conor Timmins according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. According to Sportsnet's Chris Johnson, the Avalanche are retaining $1 million of Kuemper's $4.5 million salary cap hit. His current contract expires at the end of the 2021-22 season. The trade comes after the Avalanche were unable to come to terms with last season’s starter, Philipp Grubauer. The goaltender signed a six-year, $35.4 million contract with the expansion Seattle Kraken. Kuemper was 10-11-3 this season with a .907 save percentage. Timmins had seven assists in 31 games with the Avalanche last season. The 22-year-old is a restricted free agent. The Avalanche have approximately $5.7 million in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia.com after acquiring Kuemper. The move helps their goaltending issues in the short term as Kuemper is expected take the reins as the starter Pavel Francouz. With a roster largely set, the only move left for Colorado is to come to terms with forward Tyson Jost, who is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. The Coyotes continue to stockpile for the future. They have two first round picks and five second-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft.
