Kuemper has had a knack for strong beginnings.

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native had some impressive junior hockey accolades after the Minnesota Wild chose him in the sixth round (No. 161) of the 2009 NHL Draft.

A 6-foot-5 butterfly-style goalie with good puck-handling skills, Kuemper concluded a stellar three years with Red Deer of the Western Hockey League in 2010-11 by winning both the Four Broncos Trophy as WHL most valuable player and the Del Wilson Trophy as the league's top goalie.

Kuemper signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Wild on May 26, 2011, and that autumn began a two-year run with Ontario in the East Coast Hockey League and Houston of the American Hockey League. The Wild called up Kuemper from Houston to make his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 12, 2013. He stopped 28 of 30 shots in Minnesota's 2-1 loss. Five days later, Kuemper stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn his first NHL win, 3-2 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Kuemper started one more game for the Wild that season. Officially still a rookie in 2013-14, he split the season between Minnesota and the Wild's AHL affiliate in Iowa.

The Wild qualified for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Kuemper as the backup goalie. But starter Ilya Bryzgalov struggled and with Minnesota trailing the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 in the Western Conference First Round, Kuemper started Game 3.

Kuemper made 22 saves in a 1-0 overtime victory that was the first playoff shutout in Wild history. He won two more games in the series before injuring his leg late in Minnesota's Game 7 overtime win and did not see the ice again that season.

Kuemper enjoyed another strong start in the 2014-15 season with shutouts in three of his first four games. He would lose the starting job, but in 2015-16 he set a Wild record by earning at least one point in each of his first eight starts of the season.

Following the 2016-17 season, Kuemper became a free agent and agreed to a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. He was 10-1-3 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 19 games (10 starts) before he was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 21, 2018. He immediately signed a two-year contract and emerged as Coyotes starter in 2018-19 by going 27-20-8 with a 2.33 GAA, .925 save percentage and NHL career highs of five shutouts and 55 games.

The performance earned Kuemper another two-year contract, which he signed Oct. 2, 2019.

But after two more seasons in Arizona, Kuemper was traded to the Avalanche for Conor Timmins, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and a conditional third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on July 28, 2021.

Kuemper won an NHL career-high 37 games for the Avalanche and went 10-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .902 save percentage and one shutout. He made 22 saves in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win the Stanley Cup for the first time and give the Avalanche their first NHL championship since 2001.

After helping the Avalanche to the Cup, he became an unrestricted free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Washington Capitals on July 13, 2022.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• WHL East Second All-Star Team (2010)
• WHL Player of the Year (2011)
• WHL East First All-Star Team (2011)
• Canadian Major Junior Goaltender of the Year (2011)
• Signed as a free agent by Los Angeles, July 1, 2017.
• Traded to Arizona by Los Angeles for Tobias Rieder and Scott Wedgewood, February 22, 2018.
• Traded to Colorado by Arizona for Conor Timmins, a 1st-round pick in 2022 NHL Draft and a conditional pick in 2024 NHL Draft, July 28, 2021.
• Signed as a free agent by Washington, July 13, 2022.