We wrap up our 2025-26 season reviews and report cards segment for the Los Angeles Kings this offseason with goalie Darcy Kuemper.
Last fall, Kuemper had a lot of hype and expectations for the Kings after being named a Vezina Trophy finalist coming off a tremendous 2024-25 season in net. Kuemper earned the starting job going into this past regular season in net.
Yet, a good start to this past regular season was taken off the rails after an unfortunate injury in the middle of the campaign that seemed to cause inconsistencies on the ice the rest of the way.
Darcy Kuemper's performance for the Los Angeles Kings in the 2025-26 season
In the 2025-26 season, Kuemper registered a 19-14-15 record, an .891 save percentage, a 2.78 goals-against average, and three shutouts in 50 starts and 50 games played. He didn't play in the first round of the postseason vs. the Colorado Avalanche.
Ahead of this past spring, Kuemper was still considered to be the starting goaltender for the Kings, despite some of the inconsistencies in the crease after the midseason injury he suffered. He had shown flashes of getting back on track post-Olympic break, including wins in three out of five starts in early March.
Even though Kuemper's save percentage and goals-against average were a bit lower this past regular season than his Vezina Trophy finalist campaign in 2024-25 campaign, he still had some solid starts. Kuemper boasted three shutouts and almost eight goalie point shares (per Hockey Reference), which still puts this in the upper half of the more productive seasons in goal for the veteran.
Before suffering the midseason injury, Kuemper was firing on all cylinders it seemed for the Kings. In the regular season's first three months, Kuemper registered a points percentage north of 60, and ranked top five in the NHL in save percentage and goals saved above expected.
It's easy to see that Kuemper was very good before the injury in the first half of this past regular season. He continued to play pretty well in 5-on-5 situations for the Kings in most of the second half of the regular season, posting a save percentage north of .900 at even strength.
For his efforts last season, Kuemper was selected to represent his home country in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, for Team Canada.
The negative side of Kuemper's regular season for the Kings came in the second half and after the injury. In the second half of the regular season, Kuemper ranked in the bottom 10 in the NHL in save percentage, goals saved above expected, and goals-against average.
Meanwhile, Anton Forsberg took advantage of the opportunity, outperforming Kuemper down the stretch last spring and ultimately earning the starting job before the playoffs.
2025-26 Season Grade: B-
What to expect from Darcy Kuemper moving forward with the Los Angeles Kings in the 2026-27 season?
Kuemper goes into the upcoming 2026-27 season with one year remaining on his current contract with the Kings. He's expected to compete with Forsberg for the starting job in net for the Kings going into training camp and the preseason this fall.
Whether he can reclaim the No. 1 job will be one of the biggest overarching storylines for the Kings going into training camp this fall.
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