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Report: Edmonton Oilers were unable to land goaltender Darcy Kuemper due to discrepancy in offer
Photo credit: © Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
By Zach Laing
Aug 3, 2021, 13:11 EDTUpdated: Aug 3, 2021, 13:24 EDT
It’s no surprise the Edmonton Oilers were looking to get in on the goaltending market.
Despite re-signing Mike Smith, the Oilers appear to have wanted a way to move on from Mikko Koskinen as the team’s de facto 1A goaltender. Last week they were hot on the trail of Arizona Coyotes netminder Darcy Kuemper, who with $1-million retained, was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche for prospect Conor Timmins, a 1st round pick and another conditional pick.
On the 31 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the Oilers were right in the discussions, but the prospect they offered wasn’t as valuable to Arizona as Timmins:
I think they lost out on Kuemper because whichever prospect they offered, and I don’t know who it was, Arizona liked Conor Timmins more than whoever Edmonton was willing to offer. And that is why Arizona went with that package.
It’s pretty safe to assume the Oilers would’ve been willing to move their 1st round pick this year in the deal, and if they hadn’t I doubt they would’ve gotten so far into discussions with the ‘Yotes.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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