Hey gang! Over the last two weeks I have recapped some of the more interesting sets of forwards and defensemen who have found new homes over the offseason whether that be via trade, free agency, or even the expansion draft! It was a busy offseason with player movement left, right and center! To wrap up this little mini-series, this week I am shifting my attention to the crease, where I think there are a few key players that will thrive in their new homes. We are right in the thick of draft season, so I won't waste any more time, let's get into it!

Darcy Kuemper – COL (G) 

2020-21 Stats (With ARZ) 27 GP, 10-11-3, 2 SO, 2.56 GAA, .907 SV%

The first goalie that comes to mind on this list is pretty much a no-brainer. If anything, Kuemper will reap the benefits of playing for a very strong Colorado Avalanche squad. Aside from the obvious though, I feel like Kuemper is one of the more overlooked and under-appreciated goalies in the league.

The Avs acquired Kuemper on July 28, just four days after the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. In exchange for the services for Kuemper, the Avs sent a 2022 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 third-round pick, and defenseman Conor Timmins to the Coyotes. It should be noted this is the last year of Kuemper's current contract, and the 31-year-old keeper will be looking to have a good season in order to secure himself one more multi-year payday to round out his career. 

Kuemper came up with the Minnesota Wild in 2012-13 and spent five seasons with the organization. While he showed some flashes of potential, he primarily served as the understudy for both Niklas Backstrom as well as Devan Dubnyk. During the summer of 2017, Kuemper elected to become a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the Kings to serve as a backup goalie behind Jonathan Quick. He flourished in his backup role with the Kings, but later on that season, Los Angeles opted to ship him off to Arizona in exchange for Scott Wedgewood and Tobias Rieder.

The Coyotes were quick to sign Kuemper to a two-year extension shortly after his arrival to the desert. The 2018-19 season ended up being a huge year for Kuemper. The Coyotes starting goaltender Antti Raanta was sidelined for much of the year, so Kuemper finally was given the reins of the crease, and he certainly made the most of his opportunity. In 55 games he posted a 27-20-8 record while sporting a 2.33 GAA and a steady .925 save percentage. Up to this point, this was by far the best showing of Kuemper's career, and perhaps for the first time there was starting to be some belief that he could be a reliable number one goalie in the league.

The following two seasons, the Coyotes would platoon the goaltending duties between Raanta and Kuemper. 2019-20 yielded another strong showing for the tender, but last season did see a slight dip in his numbers. Despite his statistical drop, he still was serviceable, plus it's important to remember that the Coyotes were not very good last season either. 

That brings us back to the present. Kuemper has joined Pavel Francouz to make a formidable tandem in between the pipes for the Avs. While Francouz has been a solid option for the Avs in the past, I think this is Kuemper's job to lose. He showed in Arizona that when given the chance to be the starter that he was up to the task. Also, the Avalanche have a pretty stable group of defensemen flanking Kuemper. Having Devon Toews starting off the season on the IR will hurt a bit, but the Avs should be deep enough to get by until he gets back. 

Frederik Andersen – CAR (G)

2020-21 Stats: (With TOR) 24 GP: 13-8-3, 0 SO, 2.96 GAA, .895 SV%

Last season was a tumultuous one to say the least for Freddy Andersen. Between his inconstant play and a season-sidelining knee injury that saw him lose his starting job to Jack Campbell, it certainly didn't unfold the way Andersen had hoped, especially when you consider it was a contract year for the Danish netminder. It was definitely the worst time to have career-lows in every category across the board.

The offseason saw the Leafs and Hurricanes practically swap goalies. While the Leafs acquired Petr Mrazek to duo with Campbell, Carolina inked Andersen to a modest two-year, $9 million deal. The 31-year-old will be looking to bounce back, and I for one think he is more than capable of doing so. For many seasons in Toronto, Andersen stood tall and kept the puck out of the net. Keep in mind that the Leafs defense had some major holes in it for the first handful of seasons during Andersen's tenure. And while you could rightfully point out that there are times when Andersen gets a little shaky from time to time, more often than not he's reliable.

Andersen will be joining a very strong Carolina Hurricanes squad, one that has been knocking on the door of being a contender for the past few seasons now. They are a well-coached, well-structured team and I could see Freddy thriving under their system. That being said, the defensive corps for Carolina looks a lot different going into this season, and there's a couple question marks on the blueline. If Tony DeAngelo can ingratiate himself to his teammates and play the way he's capable of playing, that could be a huge shot in the arm to the Hurricanes defense. 

Also of note is the fact the Hurricanes also went out and signed Antti Raanta two a two-year deal as well. Raanta is a capable goalie in his own right, so Andersen can ill-afford to go through any major slumps. I think while Andersen may be given the starter's role, he could have a relatively short leash. As Leafs' fans would be quick to remind you, Freddy can notoriously be a slow starter early in the season. This is one thing fantasy owners may need to be weary of going into the start of the year. If he can get off to a solid start though, I think you could see a nice bounceback season for Andersen.

Philipp Grubauer – SEA (G)

2020-21 Stats: (With COL) 40 GP, 30-9-1 7 SO, 1.95 GAA, .922 SV%

Rounding out my trio of goalies in new homes heading into this season is Philipp Grubauer. After a disappointing elimination from the playoffs last year, Grubauer opted to test free agency this past summer. To the surprise of many, he landed with the expansion Seattle Kraken. Grubauer agreed to a six-year, $35.4 million deal. After Seattle opted to take a "less is more" approach to their expansion draft, the club used the extra cap space they made for themselves and went shopping during free agency. 

Undoubtedly, Grubauer was one of the biggest acquisitions during their free agency haul. He is coming off of a season that saw him post some dazzling numbers including a goals-against average under two. While that is all well and good, I don't think it's realistic for anyone to expect him to come close to those numbers this season. Playing on a Cup-contending team like the Avs and playing on a year-one expansion team are two vastly different scenarios, and while I do think Grubauer is a very capable goaltender, I do have my concerns. Though that being said, I am cautiously optimistic that he can pull off an above average campaign.

I don't have a good pulse on what the expectations are for this Seattle Kraken franchise in their first season in the NHL, but I would caution fans not to expect a repeat of the Vegas Golden Knights. While I don't think the Kraken are all that bad on paper, I don't expect them to be a contender like Vegas was in their first couple of seasons. That team was special and caught lightning in a bottle in their inaugural year, and I think that will be very hard for anyone to replicate.

All things considered though, the Kraken have a very respectable team put together and I think they can at least be a tough matchup most nights for opposing clubs. Mark Giordano should bring a strong veteran presence to the defensive group. The towering Jamie Oleksiak is coming off a strong year and has really gained a reputation as being a tough defender to play against. Vince Dunn will get more of an opportunity to shine in Seattle after showing a couple promising seasons in St. Louis.

The wildcard for me though is Chris Driedger. The Kraken front office took Driedger in the expansion draft, a pick which really seemed like a slam dunk for them. Driedger is coming off a season where he looked fantastic with the Florida Panthers, and at often times he outshined Sergei Bobrovsky. However, with the emergence of their prized prospect Spencer Knight, the Panthers opted to leave Driedger unprotected. I figured he would be the ideal choice to get the starting gig in year one for the Kraken, but then the Grubauer signing happened. 

My fear is that the two may eat into each other's playing time and in turn make them both less fantasy-relevant. In my mind though, you don't sign a guy to a six-year deal if you aren't gonna give him the ball and let him run with it a little. So I think for that reason, combined with his strong showing last season, Grubauer will be trusted to get the bulk of the starts, at least for the onset of the season. 

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Well, that wraps up my review of some of the more interesting players who will be donning new jerseys in the upcoming weeks. We are right in the thick of draft season now, the most wonderful time of year! Good luck to everyone in their drafts, hopefully you find the insight of myself and my colleagues at DobberHockey useful to you! I'll be back next week with more primer to the regular season, but until then have yourselves a great week! Cheers!