Wild GM Fletcher on contract talks with Kuemper: '[Not] the time to fight for the big contract'
Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher revealed he has not spoken at length with Darcy Kuemper or his agent since the restricted free-agent goalie elected not to file for arbitration on July 5.
It appears as though Kuemper is looking for extra digits on his Capgeek page before earning his stripes at the NHL level.
“Darcy has great potential and played very well in stretches for us [last] season, but at the end of the day I think he’s played around 30 games in the NHL,” Fletcher told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
“Usually this isn’t the time to fight for the big contract. We feel Darcy right now is trying to establish himself in the league, and once he does that it’ll be a little simpler to come up with terms."
The 24-year-old appeared in 32 games for the Wild over the course of the past two seasons, posting a record of 13-10-4 with a .915 save percentage and two shutouts. He also kept the team afloat in 2013-14 after injuries to Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, and prior to the addition of Ilya Bryzgalov.
Still, Fletcher clearly needs to see more before breaking the bank for a goalie who remains third on the depth chart heading into a new season, provided Backstrom and Harding are both healthy.
The GM did qualify his stance by saying the trenches have yet to be dug too deep in the negotiating process.
“I wouldn’t say there’s been enough conversations to say it’s going to be a battle," Fletcher said.
Russo suggests a holdout is a possibility in this situation, should a deal not be reached prior to training camp.