Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper to miss All-Star Game

Yesterday, it was reported by Craig Morgan of The Athletic that Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper will not be playing in this year’s NHL All-Star Game.

Darcy Kuemper sustained a lower-body injury against the Minnesota Wild on December 19th. Since then he has appeared to be getting closer to returning, including traveling with the Coyotes on a recent road trip.

Its extremely disappointing that the Kuemper will miss this year’s All-Star game in St. Louis. This would have been Kuemper’s first time as an All-Star, and he has earned it with his play this season. Kuemper’s save percentage (.929) and goals-against average (2.17) are both ranked fourth among goaltenders who have played at least 10 games this season. Before being injured he was in early talks for the Vezina Award for best goaltender.

It remains to be seen who will be representing the Coyotes at this year’s game. Typically, an injured player would be replaced with someone from the same team who plays the same position. But with goaltender Antti Raanta also being sidelined with injuries Adin Hill and Ivan Prosvetov have been playing for the Coyotes, and neither player is worthy of being an NHL All-Star this season.

The Coyotes had a chance to send Clayton Keller to All-Star Game under the “Last Men In” campaign, but defenseman Quinn Hughes won the vote. All-Stars typically have name recognition in addition to excellent play during the season.

While the Coyotes are currently leading the Pacific Division, other than Darcy Kuemper they haven’t been doing it on the backs of All-Star performances. The Coyotes have been getting a balanced offense and are relying on all their defensemen to step up. It will be interesting who gets selected to represent the Desert Dogs at this year’s events.

Who do you think should represent the Coyotes at this year’s All-Star Game if not Darcy Kuemper. Feel free to comment below.