The Los Angeles Kings made some noise late last night, trading longtime Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, the Kings receive defenseman Vladimir Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
Los Angeles Kings trade Quick in a blockbuster deal
The Kings’ most pressing need was a left-handed defenseman and they got that in Gavrikov. He comes to the Kings as a stay-at-home defenseman who can supply a little offense. The 6-foot3 and 221-pound defenseman fills a big void in the defense and will slot in at the second pairing. This season, Gavrikov has three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 52 games. He can also supply something else the Kings do not have on defense and that is a physical presence. Gavrikov can play a penalty kill role also.
In Korpisalo, the Kings receive a goaltender who, like Quick, has seen his better days. Also like Quick, he is hoping a change of scenery will change his fortunes and rebound to be the goaltender he once was. This season, Korpisalo is 11-11-3 with a GAA of 3.17 and a save percentage of .911. For his career, Korpisalo is 87-78-24 with a 3.06 GAA and a .903 save percentage. Korpisalo had a career-high 19 wins in 2019-20. He will back up Kings starter Pheonix Copley during the regular season. Gavrikov and Korpisalo will be UFAs after the season.
For Quick, this is painful to experience. He had been with the Kings his entire career, winning two Stanley Cups in the process. Quick is the best American goaltender of all time who has shown dominance throughout his career. Quick, during his career, has been selected to the all-star game twice, won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2011-12, and twice won the William M. Jennings trophy in both 2013-14 and 2017-18. He carried the goaltending load most of his Kings career and dominated the King’s record book for goaltenders. Quick did everything for the organization and played extremely well during his career. However, he is 38 years old and has not played the best over the past few years. He makes his way to Columbus for the rest of the season. Like Gavrikov and Korpisalo, Quick will be a free agent after the season. A sad ending to an amazing career.
(photo: lakingsinsider.com; Zach Dooley) (photo: jacketscannon.com; Dale Bloom)
