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Kings could move on from Stanley Cup champion to shed cap space
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- Kings could move on from Stanley Cup champion to shed cap space
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The Los Angeles Kings were swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche . Now, the Kings will need to make decisions on the future, including how to manage the salary cap. The Kings will likely have to trade away a piec e in order to get cap relief.
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Now it is being reported that one of the goaltenders on the roster could be the one who is moved , according to Scott Coffman of Mayor's Manor.
Darcy Kuemper , who has spent the past two seasons with the Kings and won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, could be the odd man out. Currently, the Kings have three netminders on their NHL roster.
Erik Portillo has played just one game at the NHL level, and it was in the 2024-25 season. He stopped 28 of 29 shots in that game. If the Kings choose not to have him on the NHL roster next year, he would need to go through waivers to get back to the minors, which could lead to the Kings losing him. He also does not provide cap relief.
This leaves Anton Forsberg or Kuemper as the options. Kuemper was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2024-25, and played great. He went 31-11-7 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. The goalie also played in all six games of the playoffs that year, going 2-4 with a 3.74 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage. He went 19-14-15 this past year, with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage, losing his starting job and not appearing in the playoffs.
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Meanwhile, went 16-12-5 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage, and started all four games in the playoffs. While Forsberg was not great, he may be the option that the Kings keep. Shedding Forsberg nets the team $1.45 in cap space, while Kuemper would net $4.4 million.
Currently, the Kings have just $18.5 million in cap space and still need to sign Brandt Clarke to a new deal. Kuemper was also on Team Canada's roster, showing he is a respected netminder.
After a fifth straight year of the team being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the Kings need to make some bold moves . One of those moves may be trading Kuemper.
