“Yes Man” Darcy Kuemper does it all for Coyotes

If you told me that tonight I was going to stand up and fight Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames, I would have not gotten out of bed. That very situation was presented to Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes a few days ago, and he stepped up to the plate.

Darcy Kuemper literally does it all for the Coyotes. His weekly tasks at the office include: stopping insanely high scoring chances through 60 minutes of hockey, cheering on his partner Antti Raanta when he is in the net, and now apparently being the team’s tough guy. Some guys would shrink into the ice when given the opportunity to start a fight, not Kuemper.

Darcy Kuemper saw it all from the crease. After Jason Demers was getting taken advantage of in his own zone Kuemper jumped at the opportunity to shut that down. Demers was down on the ice, and he was getting whacked at carelessly by Flames players. One such player, Matthew Tkachuk, was the closest to Kuemper at the time.

Kuemper pounced onto Tkachuk and a brawl ensued on the ice. When a goalie gets involved things tend to get a little crazy.

Although Kuemper did not land any big hits on Tkachuk and the Flames players that crossed his path after the incident began, he sent a message to everyone on the ice. You don’t get to hit a Coyotes player unless you understand an entire team is coming after you.

The standard Kuemper set against Calgary is a beautiful thing. No one, no matter how many goals you score or how much money you make, get’s to get hit as Demers did. Everyone in that locker room is playing together as a pack, and even the stars will defend fellow Coyotes players.

Darcy Kuemper did not need to do that, he could have stood by while the skaters took care of it. Most goalies fail to contribute during a brawl due to their heavy equipment holding them down, that did not stop Kuemper.

I think that is why Arizona responded the way they did. When you watch your goalie get involved in the game in ways beyond stopping the puck you get the message. Just read what Jason Demers had to say after the game.

Darcy Kuemper is a yes man, doing everything he can to help the team win. The Coyotes will continue to need him throughout the year, as they currently sit second in the Pacific Division behind only the Edmonton Oilers.

It is going to be a long season, but when you have a hockey team playing together as one, they can rise above any adversity that comes their way. Let’s Go Coyotes!