EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Kings are set in goal next season.
That has been the case for a number of years, with L.A. having the elite Jonathan Quick as its unquestioned starter for almost 10 years.
But it’ll be a little different heading into 2019-20, with the 33-year-old Quick near the end of the worst season of his career and two youngsters beneath him showing their NHL chops.
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Take, for example, this exchange between The Athletic and backup Jack Campbell on Thursday.
Reporter: Do you think you’ve sort of stated your claim this year as a guy who could start in this league?
Campbell: I mean … yeah.
Reporter: You think so? (for clarification)
Campbell: For sure.
The interview ended right there, and Campbell didn’t really need to prove that point in his words. His play has mostly done the talking. In 30 games, he has a 2.23 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. He made 49 saves in his last game – Tuesday at Arizona – to crush the Coyotes’ playoff hopes.
One game earlier, Quick gave up seven goals in a brutal loss to the Calgary Flames. Quick has played 45 games, with a 3.41 goals-against average and .887 save percentage. He has fought through two injuries this season, so that should be taken into account.
The Kings rank 11th-worst in the NHL in goals allowed per game at 3.15, which makes Campbell’s numbers that much more eye-popping.
Quick is coming off a 2017-18 season in which he had a .921 save percentage and 2.40 goals-against average in helping lead the Kings to the William M. Jennings Trophy.
Overall, he still has the skill set to be a No. 1 – but the game has changed a bit on him and he needs to make adjustments, at least according to a former NHL netminder.
“Quick has a very unique style that he has played. He kind of revolutionized the position in the way that he plays, down in his edge-work and powerful pushes, but I find now in the way today’s game is played that you need to be in position after that first shot because you can’t defend like you used to be able to. There’s guys that are open more. It’s harder to tie guys up in front,” the former goaltender said. “You’ve gotta be more conservative I think to have success and be around the net and almost after that first save, be in good position to make that next save right away. You can’t be outside of your crease trying to scramble back. I don’t think he’s a diminished product but I do think he needs to re-invent his style or maybe update his technical play.”
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The goaltender referenced 36-year-old Pekka Rinne as someone who also played a little out of control, but reined in his style and became more in tune with today’s game. Last season, Rinne won the Vezina Trophy.
“He made a lot of adjustments. He used to have similar problems where he would be overaggressive on the first shot and then he’d have to scramble back and then they’re diving around and they make some incredible saves but it opens it up for a little bit more chaos and unpredictability,” the goaltender said. “He still has a lot left in the tank but I think he really has to retrain his mindset and his muscle memory, the way he plays to be a little more conservative and just rely on positioning, rely on his ability to see pucks off sticks and just so his recoveries aren’t so big you don’t need to get into scramble mode right off the first shot. You’re already in position for any rebound or anything that happens after the initial shot.”
Kings players know that there’s a major discrepancy between Quick’s numbers and Campbell’s, but don’t see a potential Quick decline as the explanation.
“I had the conversation with one of the players the other day (about this),” Kings forward Kyle Clifford said. “And it just seems like, for whatever reason, we’re really letting Quickie out to dry and the chances we’re giving up, it’s like five-to-10 Grade-A chances and he’s played great. He’s done his job and we just haven’t done a very good job in front of him. It’s tough when you’re getting that many chances every night against. We’ve got to do a better job as a team in front of him.”
As the Kings look to refresh their lineup and rid themselves of aging assets, Quick has emerged as one of their top trade chips. Los Angeles not only has Campbell under contract for $675,000 for one more year, it also has Cal Petersen at $925,000 as a pending restricted free agent. This season, in 11 games with the Kings, the 24-year-old Petersen looked like a potential No. 1, with a 2.60 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
Quick makes $5.8 million for the next four seasons and doesn’t have trade protection in his contract. A contending team could use him, but his fit on the Kings may make less sense. In our player poll, seven percent of respondents said they would want Quick starting for them in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final. This ranked fourth among NHL netminders. Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 and also helped lead Los Angeles to the 2014 Cup.
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“He’s had a tough year numbers-wise, but nobody would ever second-guess him when it comes time to win a game,” interim coach Willie Desjardins said.
Earlier in the season, it seemed Quick had the top trade value on the team – as a guy who could help a contender’s goaltending situation if it didn’t have faith in its current No. 1. The Kings held onto him and now, unfortunately for L.A., the view seems different. It may be harder to get a first-round pick or high-end prospect unless general manager Rob Blake can pull off some magic.
“Maybe some goalie guru can tell you his game is good and his numbers are a product of the team. To my eye, his numbers are not good and he has not been good. … therefore trade value not good,” an NHL team scout said.
The former NHL goaltender said the Carolina Hurricanes – a team on the upswing that could add veteran leadership in goal – could be a fit.
He also noted the Edmonton Oilers could use Quick, though they did sign Mikko Koskinen to a three-year deal at $4.5 million per season. They also have just $7.75 million of projected salary cap space for next season, according to Cap Friendly.
If the Columbus Blue Jackets lose Sergei Bobrovsky this summer, they would be a logical fit for Quick – as a contending team in its window of opportunity. He would also be a bridge to the Elvis Merzlikins era.
The Calgary Flames have pending UFA Mike Smith in goal and, in the past, Calgary preferred to add veteran netminders – like Smith, Brian Elliott and Jonas Hiller – rather than develop its own.
The Philadelphia Flyers could use a mentor for Carter Hart, and Quick has a relationship with former Kings GM Dean Lombardi, who works on Philly’s management team.
Also, the Kings can wait to see where Bobrovsky goes, then look to trade Quick to teams that were trying to add the Russian netminder. Or another team could pop on L.A.’s radar.
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“I’m sure they could get something for him,” said former NHLer Shane O’Brien, who does analyst work for Sportsnet. “There’s teams heading into the playoffs right now – if you asked the Calgary Flames or St. Louis Blues, if they would take Quick in net right now heading into the playoffs. They would probably take him in a heartbeat. I’m an old-school guy. When a guy wins you two Stanley Cups and plays the way he did, if he wants to be a King for his whole career, I think he’s earned that but there’s definitely teams out there that would take Jonathan Quick, for sure.”
If the Kings do go the trade route, they would most certainly have to retain a lot of Quick’s salary, based on his performance this year, in order to get some viable return.
“They probably have to share some risk in the money,” an NHL team executive said.
Starting in 2020-21, Quick’s real-numbers salary goes down to $3.5 million, then to $3 million the following year, then to $2.5 million in his last season of this contract. This could make a deal for him more attractive to a team that doesn’t want to shell out a ton of real dollars.
Said a former league executive, “He has huge declining cash, so retain 50 percent and he is in backup territory from a salary perspective.”
But there’s also the emotional cost of trading someone who has been so important to the franchise, and that doesn’t come with a price tag. Quick, a third-round draft pick in 2005, has been with the Kings his entire career and is emblematic of the team’s success. He’s seen as one of the go-to guys in that dressing room and a phenomenal teammate.
“He’s an awesome team guy. He’s never, ever once pointed a guy out,” Clifford said. “He’s one of the leaders on the team. He takes the load. He carries it on his shoulders. I think he’s 100 percent the reason why we’ve had so much success in the past is basically on Jonathan Quick.”
The past? Yes, but the Kings are trying to look to the future and that’s why dealing Quick could net them the assets they need to move forward. It’s a tough call, one of many that Blake will have to make this offseason.
(Top photo: Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)