"That's Showbiz, Baby" -- LA Kings Prove To Be The Least Loyal Franchise In Hockey By Shipping Jonathan Quick Off To The Worst Team In The League
Jeff Gross. Getty Images.
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The Los Angeles Kings were able to hang 2 Stanley Cup Champions banners up in the rafters of Staples Center (it's still Staples Center to me, dammit). One of the biggest reasons for that is due to the fact that they had arguably the best goalie on the planet during that stretch.
Jonathan Quick had one of the most dominant playoff performances out of a goalie there's ever been in 2012. Guy had a .946 sv% and 3 shutouts while leading the Kings to their first Stanley Cup, and he won the Conn Smythe to go along with it. In 2014 he allowed the fewest goals against in the NHL while leading the Kings to their 2nd Cup. This sick bastard played in 72 games in 2014-15. SEVENTY TWO GAMES. He was a freak.
But if you spend enough time in Hollywood, it's only a matter of time before you get burned. And holy shit did the Kings just torch this man in the middle of the night.
We saw another multiple Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe winning franchise cornerstone get traded yesterday with Patrick Kane going to New York. That was a trade done out of the mercy of Chicago's heart. They wanted to give Kane another crack at playing deep into the playoffs, and they knew that wasn't going to happen in Chicago. So they did whatever they could to facilitate the best possible scenario for Kane to show their gratitude for everything he had done for that franchise.
The Kings just sent Jonathan Quick to the worst team in the league for a guy who plays the same position.
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Obviously the scenarios are a little different considering the Kings are currently sitting in 2nd place in the Pacific Division. They're gearing up for a playoff run while the Blackhawks are just praying the pingpong balls work in their favor again in the draft lottery. But you think you'd have at least a little more loyalty to a man who is the reason you have the Cup Champions banners in the first place. Figure out a way to make a 3-team trade and send Quick to a contender or something.
Now here's the thing--there's no way that Jonathan Quick ends up in Columbus. Whether the Blue Jackets flip him before the deadline, or he just ends up "tweaking" an injury and can't play. He's on the last year of his deal and 37-years-old. He ain't putting on a Blue Jackets sweater at this point in his career. But it's still a pretty gutless move either way by Rob Blake & Co. One that clearly isn't going to sit very well with the locker room. Better hope that Gavrikov is worth the price of telling legends you simply do not give a fuck about them.