Jonathan Quick had been one of the cornerstones of the Los Angeles Kings franchise for over fifteen years. Drafted by the Kings in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft with the 72nd overall pick in the draft, Quick now sits at fourth all-time in games played by American-born goaltenders, but first all-time in shutouts.
Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar, and Drew Doughty had been together for a long time and had a lot of success together.
The Milford, Connecticut native was the perennial back-stop for center Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty. Kopitar was also drafted in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft with the 11th overall pick, and it’s safe to say that the Kings hit on both their first-rounder and their third-rounder.
Three years later, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the LA Kings drafted Canadian Drew Doughty with the second overall pick in the draft. With Kopitar, Quick, and Doughty, the Kings had three cornerstone pieces that would eventually carry them to become Stanley Cup Champions in both 2012 and 2014.
In a time where the Kings needed goaltending help and defensive help on the left side, Rob Blake saw an opportunity and seized it.
After 743 career games in Los Angeles, General Manager Rob Blake saw an opportunity to trade a goaltender with a high cap hit who was past his prime, for a young 28-year old Finnish goaltender in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Joonas Korpisalo.
End of an Era. Jonathan Quick is heading to the Columbus Blue Jackets. #TradeCentre pic.twitter.com/F8U3NXr7Gn
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 1, 2023
Also, included in the trade was widely-known available defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who was coming to the Kings with Korpisalo. But, Jonathan Quick did not spend long as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets because one day later he was traded to a Kings divisional rival, the Vegas Golden Knights.
QUICK TO VEGAS ⚔️
— NHL (@NHL) March 2, 2023
The @GoldenKnights have acquired Jonathan Quick from the @BlueJacketsNHL! #NHLTradeDeadline pic.twitter.com/hw6FiO0Zbt
The aftermath of the trades prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline has resulted in success for both Pacific divisional teams.
Now, Korpisalo is in a Kings jersey and Quick is in a Golden Knights jersey. Very unusual to see for Kings fans, but it seems like the trade has benefited both teams. The Columbus Blue Jackets appear to be the only team who lost this trade.
In Jonathan Quick’s last five games before he was traded, he was 0-3-2 with an .868 save percentage and 19 goals against. His time with his lifelong franchise was coming to a brutal conclusion. Even though the netminder was an iconic figure in the organization, production like that was unusable for an NHL goaltender.
And with Cal Petersen also being unusable at the NHL level at the moment, the Kings were in a real bind for a productive goaltender. So, trading for Joonas Korpisalo was hard from an emotional standpoint, but from a business standpoint, it was a great move. Since acquiring Korpisalo from the Kings, he has been outstanding. He is undefeated with a 3-0-0 record and a .928 save percentage.
LA has greatly benefited from having him in steady rotation with Pheonix Copley. Since the trade, the Kings have a combined record of 5-0-1 in a stretch that sees them in second place in the Pacific division. Ironically, the first place team in the division is the Vegas Golden Knights. And since being traded, Jonathan Quick has stepped up his game, too.
Quick is 3-0-0 with a .939 save percentage and one shutout. His shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 11th marked his second shutout of the season and his 58th for his career. It seems that the trade has ignited something in Quick that he didn’t have this year for the Kings.
Quick’s 10-year contract extension that he signed in July 2012 is set to expire at the end of this season and he is set to become an unrestricted free agent. There have been rumors swirling that he could have retired at the end of this season, but now that he has been traded it could extend his desire to keep playing and reignite his passion for playing.
The Western Conference playoff picture could end up in a Los Angeles Kings-Vegas Golden Knights matchup.
Right now, the Kings have a 1% chance of missing the playoffs and the Golden Knights have a less than 1% chance of missing the playoffs. Needless to say, it’s a near guarantee that the two teams at the top of the Pacific division will be in the post-season.
If the season ended today, the first round matchup for the Kings would be the Seattle Kraken. This would be the first time that Seattle would make the post-season and as of their roster construction right now, the Kings would have a great chance to make it past the first round. And if the Golden Knights make it past the Winnipeg Jets, then a Vegas-Los Angeles rivalry could be born with Jonathan Quick suiting up to play against the team that he backstopped for nearly 16 years.