Dater Column: Darcy Kuemper Returns Serve on Critics (+)

Yesterday contained news that his backup, Pavel Francouz, had signed a two-year contract extension. This morning, he would have seen his name in rumor stories that involved Marc-Andre Fleury possibly coming here as a No. 1 replacement. One of the knocks against Darcy Kuemper, when he came to the Avalanche via trade last summer, had to do with his mental toughness. Could he play in the bigger games on a bigger stage? Was he just a guy who was pretty good on a lot of mediocre teams? Could he be a leading man in the playoffs? Could he handle the media heat?