Darcy Kuemper on getting his mojo back in Riga: 'I don’t think I ever lost my mojo. I was just hurt'
Coyotes goalie led Canada to gold medal at IIHF World Championship in Latvia
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In the final three games of the IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia, Team Canada goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped 89 of 94 shots (.947 save percentage) to lead Canada to the gold medal against the tournament’s top three teams: Russia, the United States and Finland.
Given the way that Kuemper started the tournament — and the way that he finished his NHL season with the Coyotes — you might say that he got his mojo back on the world stage.
Kuemper begs to differ.
“I don’t think I ever lost my mojo,” he said, laughing. “I was just hurt.”
Before Kuemper suffered an MCL strain in his knee late in the second period of a game at Colorado on March 8, he was fifth in the NHL in save percentage at .914, and fourth in goals against average (2.41) among goalies who had played at least 18 games. His underlying numbers were good, too, in a league that still does a remarkably poor job of tracking goalies’ statistical performance.
Then everything changed in Denver.
“My leg kind of got stuck in the last minute of the period,” he said. “I kicked out my one leg, trying to get onto my butt and the other leg got stuck on the ice underneath me and just kind of popped and gave out.
“I was trying to ignore it and went back out for the third (period) but I couldn’t play and I had to get right out of there. I don’t think I would have been able to stop the puck if they shot one on the ice.”
Kuemper missed the next five weeks, and when he returned, he did not look the same. He stopped 247 of 275 shots (.898 SP), he went 5-5-1 and the Coyotes missed the playoffs. In that stretch, the narrative changed from Kuemper being a franchise goalie to one who didn’t deserve to start over backup Adin Hill. Somehow, that narrative expanded to suggest that Kuemper hadn’t been himself all season, which the numbers before his injury clearly rebuked in spite of a markedly worse defensive team in front of him.
Former coach Rick Tocchet defended his decision to start Kuemper over Hill down the stretch, reasoning that any coach would go to their No. 1 guy in that situation, especially one who had proven himself the past two seasons as Kuemper had done. He even scoffed at those who suggested he do otherwise while the Coyotes chased a playoff spot, and he was supported by goalie coach Corey Schwab.
In his exit interview after the season, I asked Kuemper if he was fully healthy when he returned and he admitted that he was not. He elaborated on that admission this week.
“As far as knee injuries go, it's probably the best kind because it fully heals on its own without surgery,” he said. “It’s just tricky coming back as a goalie because you put your MCL in a lot of stressful situations. The pain came and went. There were days when it felt great and then days where if you moved it the wrong way it could start feeling painful again.”
Which begged the question: Why return if Kuemper wasn't 100 percent?
“I had talked to the team doctors and they were pretty confident that it wasn't a situation where I was going to go back out there and hurt it again,” he said. “It was just going to be in some discomfort but it was strong enough to go back out there. When you hear that, you want to go out there and do what you can to help your team win.
“We’ve got a great medical staff and they were there to give me treatment every day. They were there to keep it as good as they could. By the end of the season, it felt pretty good.”
That’s why Kuemper opted to play in the World Championship. His knee wasn’t 100 percent, but he wasn't worried about it hampering him any more.
“If it wasn't smart to go and it wouldn’t have been good for my body, then I definitely would not have risked that but I was feeling good and to have the opportunity to play for Team Canada is pretty special,” said Kuemper, who also had to weigh the reality of a long, transatlantic flight and more COVID-19 lockdown protocols after an NHL season full of similar protocols. “That did cross my mind, but I just tried to ignore it right away and just say, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity to play for Team Canada. Whatever you have to deal with, deal with it.’ I jumped on the opportunity right away.”
For what it’s worth, Team Canada’s management and coaching staffs also chose to start Kuemper over Hill, who was Team Canada’s backup. That staff included Team Canada assistant GM Shane Doan, Hockey Canada Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, Scott Salmond, assistant GM and former NHL goalie, Roberto Luongo, and the coaching staff of Gerard Gallant, Mike Kelly, André Tourigny and Tyler Dietrich.
It took Canada longer to find its sea legs than the United States, which faced similar constraints, including a roster that could not draw from the 16 NHL teams still competing in the playoffs, or a number of players who declined to compete in the tournament due to the aforementioned protocols.
Team Canada is always a throw-them-in-the-blender experience for new guys who haven’t played together much, but in past tournaments, players often had at least some international experience playing together. This felt like an extreme example of unfamiliarity.
“I was meeting most of the guys for the first time and it was a quick prep,” Kuemper said. “I think we skated three times and then we played. It was hard to have chemistry right off the bat.”
Canada started 0-3 with losses to Latvia, the United States and Germany. Another regulation loss would have ended Canada’s chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
“We started hearing all sorts of things about how we were going to be the first Canadian team not to make it out of pool play and not advance; the worst Canadian team ever,” Kuemper said. “We did a really good job of ignoring that noise. Our focus from the start of the tournament was just to get better every game and we kind of stuck with that. We didn’t worry about how bad things were going early. We got better every game and we were playing our best hockey by the time we got to the elimination round and we were able to win it all so it was pretty fun to be a part of something like that.”
Kuemper had his own adjustments to make on the big ice. Those adjustments are often talked about when it comes to skaters; rarely with goalies.
“It is definitely a challenge, especially your first couple games before you get used to it,” he said. “Your angles are all different and there’s a lot more room out there. You almost find yourself chasing guys a little bit out of your crease. Because there is so much more room, guys can keep moving laterally and you keep following them. We’re used to the smaller ice where you only follow them so far and they’re at the wall, but if you keep following them to the boards on the bigger ice, you're going to be out of your net so you have to be careful with that.
“When guys do get an opportunity, obviously there is more space so they’re going to be a little more patient and hold onto the puck longer because they’ve got more time so you’ve got to be patient as well and wait for the play to come to you. You have to know that it’s going to be a little slowed down.”
Kuemper only had one bad game — when he was pulled in a 5-1 loss to the United States — and he endured some fluky goals off skates and bodies. Once Canada reached the quarterfinals by winning a tiebreaker with Kazakhstan for the final slot, he felt dialed in. Doan knew it when Kuemper stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 win against Pool A winner Russia in the quarterfinals.
“The game against Russia, you could just see that his mojo was back,” Doan said. “He was never bad, but man, in the Russia game, it was like they weren't going to beat him and that was a good feeling to have him on our side.”
Kuemper stopped 36 of 38 shots in a semifinal win against the U.S., and then he stopped 29 of 31 in the gold medal game against Finland.
“Only one NHL team ends the year the way they want to, but to end the year like that is a great way to end the season,” Doan said. “It’s the way you want and hope to end, and representing your country, everyone talked about how incredible it was. For sure, it can give you confidence going into the next season.”
Kuemper is entering the final year of his contract. He could play all of it with the Coyotes, but it’s not out of the question to think that the Coyotes might try to trade him if the return is right. He helped his value with a strong performance under pressure-packed circumstances in Riga.
“That’s all out of my control,” he said. “I’m just focused on going out and playing.
“You never want to end a year with just missing the playoffs, so to go out there, play meaningful games and win the tournament is a good way to end and it kind of sets up for a summer of good training and excitement for the game again. I think it’s a great way to finish and to carry that momentum into the next season.”
As for the immediate future, Kuemper plans to rest his knee for the next week or two and then start training and getting ready for next season. He is hoping to return to his native Saskatoon at some point, but the Canadian border issues could prevent that. For now he’s in Arizona, attending events with his teammates and making plans to escape the heat.
“Last summer, I was here so I know what to expect now,” he said, ‘but I think we're going camping so it will be fun to get away. We saw the forecast and we thought, ‘Well, maybe we can go somewhere a little cooler.’”
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter: @CraigSMorgan
Best part of Kuemper's reign in Arizona was his throwdown of Tkachuk. If only the rest of the team had his fire and guts. For him, I hope he gets moved to Carolina, Washington, Toronto or Colorado so he can bring them a cup and us some solid assets.
Great read on my favorite player. Going to be bummed if he gets traded. Thanks, Craig!