The Arizona Coyotes have signed Darcey Kuemper to a two year contract extension worth $4.5 million dollars annually.
Kuemper deserved some Vezina votes last year when he single handedly kept the Coyotes in the playoff race until the Final week.
Had they made it, it wouldn't have been wrong to give him the Hart - and as crazy as it sounds, no player had a bigger impact on their team.
Kuemper played for a team that was bad at puck possession and couldn't score. He played 55 games and put up a .925 save percentage.
I don't think there are very many teams - if any - in the history of the NHL that missed the playoffs getting the goaltending the Coyotes got last year.
So for that alone, Kuemper has earned this contract.
It's two years for about half the money of a good starting goalie, and if it works out it will be extremely team friendly.
There is risk though, because Kuemper could have just been a flash in the pan.
So it seems like they split the difference and rewarded him for his service with a slight chance of it being a smart money deal. Ranta is signed through the end of next season, so essentially they are getting what could be the league's best tandem for the price of one high end starter.
Less even, if the Bobrovsky deal is the new standard.
In the end, there's really no risk to this deal because at worst, Kuemper will be OK, and at that money, he doesn't really have to be amazing.