Darcy Kuemper needed a strong preseason performance to strengthen his case for the Kings’ starting job, but a rough night against Utah may have put his grip on the crease in serious jeopardy.
Darcy Kuemper had an opportunity Tuesday night to make a statement to Peter Laviolette and the Los Angeles Kings.
Instead, he made the wrong kind.
The veteran goaltender surrendered five goals on 34 shots in a 6-3 preseason loss to the Utah Mammoth at Crypto.com Arena, turning what should have been a chance to strengthen his case for the starting job into another question mark surrounding the Kings' crease.
That is a tough reality for a goaltender who has won a Stanley Cup and was a Vezina Trophy finalist during the 2024-25 season. After a strong start to last season, however, Kuemper was derailed by a series of upper- and lower-body injuries. His play deteriorated from there, eventually costing him the starting job to Anton Forsberg, who went on to start every game of the Kings' first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche. Los Angeles was swept.
The game offered Kuemper a chance to begin rewriting that story.
With a new season approaching and Laviolette now behind the Kings' bench, Kuemper had an opportunity to show the organization that he remains capable of reclaiming the crease. Instead, his performance did little to strengthen his case.
Kuemper finished last season with a 19-14-15 record, a 2.78 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage across 50 regular-season appearances. Those numbers left plenty of room for improvement, particularly with the Kings now operating under a coach who has historically relied heavily on his No. 1 goaltender.
Laviolette has shown a clear preference for giving one goaltender the bulk of the workload. During his final season with the New York Rangers in 2024-25, Igor Shesterkin started 61 of the team's 82 regular-season games.
There is also some history between Laviolette and Kuemper that makes this competition particularly intriguing.
Laviolette's final season with the Washington Capitals came in 2022-23, when Kuemper was the team's primary goaltender and made 57 starts. Kuemper rebounded that season after dealing with three separate injuries and once again established himself as a reliable workhorse in the crease.
That previous relationship could factor into how Laviolette views Kuemper as the Kings' goaltending competition unfolds.
But the performance against Utah was precisely the kind Kuemper could not afford to have.
If he wants to convince Laviolette and the Kings that he is still the goaltender who should shoulder the majority of the workload, he will need to look considerably different the next time he gets between the pipes, that is if he gets another chance before the start of the regular season.
