LA Kings Rumors: Three Jonathan Quick trades with Penguins
By Ryan Sikes
With Cal Petersen trending towards becoming the everyday goaltender for the LA Kings, here are three trades with the Penguins involving Jonathan Quick.
Starting off the year on the NHL’s COVID protocol list, it took a bit for Cal Petersen to find his footing in the early goings of the LA Kings 2021 season. However, he’s appeared in five straight games, including four starts — he replaced Jonathan Quick in the series opener against Vegas — and has looked every bit the part of the team’s permanent netminder.
Early in training camp, LA Kings general manager Rob Blake confirmed the duo of Petersen and Quick would split time between the pipes this season. The latter hasn’t looked great, but he’s had some terrible defense playing in front of him as well.
In the background, Jim Rutherford shocked the hockey world, resigning from the Penguins general manager duties. Since then, Ron Hextall has replaced Rutherford in the front office, who initially started in the LA Kings organization as vice president and assistant GM. He won a Stanley Cup in 2012 with the franchise, spent four years as the Flyers’ general manager before returning to Los Angeles as an advisor in the Hockey Operations department.
Quite the journey for the 56-year-old. Now overseeing all things in the Penguins organization, Hextall made it clear in his introductory press conference they have most of the pieces in place to make the most of their competitive window. Per The Athletic, the Penguins could be in the market for the Marc-Andre Fleury-like presence in net, backing up primary netminder Tristan Jarry.
Quick’s name has been tossed around, and with two years left on his deal, it’s literally a matter of time before his tenure in Los Angeles is over. Let’s look at three trades involving Quick with the Penguins that make sense for both sides. Of course, these are just hypothetical, and the Kings will have to eat some of Quick’s money to make these work.