Jonathan Quick, Kings legend, ‘unhappy’ to be traded

When listing the greatest, most important players in the history of the Los Angeles Kings, it would not take long before getting to Jonathan Quick. Quick was the starting goalie for the Kings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012.

On Tuesday, days before the NHL Trade Deadline, Quick was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Elliotte Friedman of the NHL Network reported the deal. Not long after, Frank Seravalli of Bally Sports tweeted, “To say Jonathan Quick is unhappy with the trade, I’m told, is ‘an understatement.'” Other Kings felt the same way. 

The frustration was shared by a lot of fans and others in the hockey world.

The situation isn’t quite like the one Patrick Kane with the Chicago Blackhawks. Yes, Kane is a Blackhawks franchise legend and was on the team during a glorious era. But Chicago isn’t close to contending and Kane, now 34, is still putting up decent numbers. It made sense to send him to a contending team. That is the business of sports.

Quick, though, is nowhere near at the form he was in the early part of the 2010s when he was leading the Kings to Stanley Cup triumphs. He’s also largely been replaced in net by Pheonix Copley — who started six games in February to Quick’s three. Also, unlike the Kane situation, the Kings are firmly in playoff position while the Blue Jackets have 46 points, the worst total in the league.

Does that make trading Quick easier? In a way, yes. But in a way, it also would have made it easier and more sensible to trade him. If he was the team’s primary starting goalie and Los Angeles was winning in spite of Quick’s struggles, replacing him would be completely fair and it would be borderline foolish not to. But even a struggling Quick would be a nice guy to have as a backup option. Not many other goalies have that kind of experience or track record.

Of course, sports are a business. Everyone understands that. But in some situations, the business end can be taken too much to the extreme. This could have been one of those times.