Kings celebrate Kuemper’s 500 NHL games milestone with special ceremony

The Los Angeles Kings continued the celebration of Darcy Kuemper on Saturday.

The team honored the veteran goalie reaching the 500 NHL games played milestone with a special pregame ceremony before their game against the Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena.

Kuemper’s wife, Sydney, sons, Caden and Barrett, parents Brent and Sharon, and siblings, Brendan and Nicole, joined him on the ice for the festivities.

A tribute video featuring highlights throughout the veteran goalie’s 15 NHL seasons and special video messages from his Kings teammates aired on the arena video board.

Kings president Luc Robitaille presented Kuemper with the commemorative silver stick. His sons also received miniature versions of the silver goalie sticks.

The team’s goalie coach Mike Buckley presented the veteran goalie with a Tiffany crystal on behalf of the NHL.

Kuemper’s teammates gifted him a Rolex watch, a custom goalie mask featuring career highlights, a custom holographic trading card and trip for his family to a Colorado Springs resort.

On Thursday, Kuemper played in his 500^th NHL game in a matchup against the New York Islanders. His teammates wore custom T-shirts honoring his achievement.

The veteran goalie is in his third straight season with the Kings and played 19 games for the team during the 2017-2018 season. He played five seasons for the Minnesota Wild (2012-17), four seasons with the Arizona Coyotes (2018-21), two seasons with the Washington Capitals (2022-24) and one season with the Colorado Avalanche (2021-22).

Kuemper helped the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022.