LA Kings Rumors: Three Jonathan Quick trades with Penguins

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.

Trade #1: LA Kings get Casey DeSmith and a 2022 second-round pick for Jonathan Quick and Johan Sodergran.

Think of the Roberto Luongo trade back to the Florida Panthers in March 2014. Florida received a 34-year-old veteran goalie along with a developing prospect in exchange for some goalie named Jacob Markstrom and former second-round pick Shawn Matthias.

In this particular trade, I have the Penguins also receiving their Steven Anthony in the Luongo trade in Johan Sodergran – a 21-year-old winger who tallied 7 points in 48 AHL games last season. He’s up with the Reign again this season but largely overshadowed by the LA Kings’ top prospects.

In exchange, the Kings get 29-year-old Casey DeSmith, who was linked to the Quick deal in The Athletic‘s trade topic, and a 2022 second-round pick. The Penguins are without a first, third, fourth, and sixth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, so any draft capital would likely come from 2022.

DeSmith would be the backup to Petersen, posting a 2.84 GAA and .885 SV% in six games this season. Last year with the Penguins AHL affiliate, DeSmith registered a 2.92 GAA and .905 SV% in 41 games. It’s worth noting; he’s under contract through the 2021-2022 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent, which could align well with the development of Jacob Ingham, Lukas Parik, and other LA Kings goalie prospects.

Trade #2: LA Kings get defenseman Josh Maniscalco for Jonathan Quick

The LA Kings don’t necessarily need to request a goalie in exchange. As noted, Ingham, Parik, etc., are in the pipeline, and the early reports suggest that Parik will be pretty darn good. Therefore, I have the Kings bolstering their defensive depth in this particular return, acquiring right-shot defenseman Josh Maniscalco.

The 21-year-old stands at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, and went undrafted out of Arizona State. According to Scott Wheeler, he’s ranked as the eighth-best prospect and second-best defensive prospect in the Penguins’ organization.

At the time he was signed by Pittsburgh, here’s what Jim Rutherford had to say regarding Maniscalco:

“Josh is a solid puck-moving, offensive defenseman,” said Rutherford. “He jumps into the rush and plays a style that is complementary to our group. We think highly of his character and are happy to add Josh to the organization.”

He was part of the Sun Devils’ top defensive unit, tallying 11 goals and 32 points in 36 games during the 19-20 season. He’s playing with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate to start the 2021 season, waiting for a spot to open up on the right side at the NHL level, which could prove difficult with Letang, Mario, Ceci occupying the three spots.

I also have the LA Kings picking up a fourth-rounder in the 2022 NHL Draft, which has yielded promising prospects as of late, with Jordan Spence, Aidan Dudas, and Mikey Anderson taken between 2019 and 2017.