It’s the end of an era in Los Angeles. On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Kings agreed to send the franchise’s greatest goaltender Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. The Kings sent first and third round picks to Columbus as well.
I don’t know where to begin.
When you think about the Kings and you think about the runs to the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, you think about four players: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, and Jonathan Quick. Never in my mind did I think general manager Rob Blake would trade a single one of them. These are the types of guys that you let stick around until they decide to hang it up, but ultimately, Blake made the move nobody thought he would. If you take a step back and remove your emotions from it, the trade makes sense from a business standpoint.
Yes, Quick anchored two title runs in three years, won a Conn Smythe and cemented himself as one of the league’s top goalies for nearly a decade, but he’s not the same goalie he once was. The Kings currently sit tied atop both the Pacific Division and the Western Conference with 76 points and have fully checked into “win now” mode. At the end of the day, Quick was not contributing at the rate he has in years past.
In 31 games (27 starts), Quick is 11-13-4, has a 3.50 GAA and has a .876 save percentage, both career lows. It’s been incredibly hard to watch, especially after a 2022 playoff series versus Edmonton where Quick showed glimpses of the greatness we had once expected to see on a nightly basis. He is currently the backup to Pheonix Copley who has done nothing but perform since being called up from the AHL. Copley is 17-4-2, has a .901 save percentage and a 2.74 GAA. As the clear backup goalie, Quick became significantly more dispensable, despite being a three-time All-Star and two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Although the trade makes sense for a team trying to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in nearly a decade, it doesn’t make it hurt any less for fans and it likely doesn’t make it hurt any less inside the Kings’ locker room. Quick was traded immediately following Tuesday night’s win over Winnipeg, which meant he was going to travel home with the team. We can only imagine the emotions that overcame Quick, Kopitar and Doughty on that long flight home, their last one together as teammates after everything they have gone through.
Quick’s return to Los Angeles is sure to be an emotional one, as he never got a real chance to say goodbye. Despite the trade deadline looming, Quick’s name was not one that had been thrown around in trade talks, at least not publicly. The next time he steps on the ice, whether it be in a different uniform or in a suit watching his No. 32 rising up to the rafters, there will not be a single person sitting in their chair. It is sure to be an emotional moment for the man who has delivered some of the greatest moments in Kings history.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but sooner or later, Quick will return home for a proper sendoff and a celebration befitting one of the greatest players in franchise history.
