The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Jonathan Quick, formerly of the Los Angeles Kings, from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
WELL WELL WELL…
We have acquired Jonathan Quick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Michael Hutchinson and a 2025 seventh-round pick!#VegasBorn | #TheGoldenAge pic.twitter.com/ew53N5rvsr
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 2, 2023
Michael Hutchinson heads the other way with a 2025 7th rounder, and it appears the team wanted a little more experience in net.
Quick is a two-time Stanley Cup winning netminder that is in the final season of his contract, and he very much expected to spend the entirety of his career in Los Angeles.
Instead he was traded to Columbus, something that reportedly upset him a lot, and now he’s back in the Pacific division where he will work in tandem with Adin Hill for the interim.
This has been a tough year for Quick as he’s posted an .876 save percentage, a 3.50 goals against average, and posted a -21.9 goals saved above average while stopping -17.03 goals above expected. He’s played 743 regular season games and 92 playoff games, and it very well be the end of the road for the 37-year-old.
But pettiness and spite is a funny thing and this trade to the Golden Knights, a team 2 points ahead of Los Angeles in the standings, could very well invigorate him for a short while. I am not saying this is something likely to happen, but goaltending is a position where a lot of weird stuff can happen.