The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings have agreed to a trade as Arizona has sent forward Tobias Rieder and goaltender Scott Wedgewood to the Kings. In return, the Coyotes get goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Arizona is also retaining 15 percent of Rieder’s salary.
OFFICIAL: #Coyotes Acquire Kuemper from LA for Rieder, Wedgewood https://t.co/en6u8LkMiO
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 22, 2018
Arizona Coyotes Trade Tobias Rieder to Los Angeles Kings
This is the second trade the Kings have made prior to Monday’s deadline. Earlier this week, they acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf from the Ottawa Senators. In Tobias Rieder, the Kings get a player who has played a lot on the penalty kill and who’s had three straight double-digit goal seasons. His career high in points came two seasons ago when he had 37 points. So far this season, he has eight goals and 19 points in 58 games. Rieder has put up a 45.9 percent Corsi and a -2.9 relative Corsi this season.
The second part of the deal is the exchange of backup goaltenders. Kuemper has been great for the Kings this season as he’s 10-1-3 with a .932 save percentage. Even though he’s only appeared in 19 games, it’s been a good bounce-back season after only being .902 for the Minnesota Wild last year.
Arizona ended up agreeing to an extension with him prior to the trade as well. He signed a two-year contract with the Coyotes with an average salary of $1.85 million. He’ll be backing up Antti Raanta for the rest of the season.
For the Kings, their backup to Jonathan Quick will now be Wedgewood. He’s appeared in 20 games for Arizona this season and went 5-9-4 with a .893 save percentage.
Arizona hasn’t been great defensively this season and this is only Wedgewood’s second year in the league so there’s room for improvement. He’s also going to a new team that’s better defensively than the Coyotes are. This is the second time Wedgewood has been traded this season, after moving from New Jersey to Arizona earlier this year.
SAN JOSE, CA – MARCH 20: Tobias Rieder #8 of the Arizona Coyotes skates against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on March 20, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images)
