At 37, Jonathan Quick playing some of the best hockey of his career with New York Rangers

Nov 26, 2023

At 37, Jonathan Quick playing some of the best hockey of his career with New York Rangers

Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

You can’t keep Jonathan Quick down.

How often have we written him off as a washed-up keeper way past his prime with no hope of bouncing back?

He had a remarkable 2017-18 season but then hardly looked NHL caliber the next two years. He bounced back again 2021-22, outplaying expectations on a Los Angeles Kings team that barely made the playoffs – only to turn right back into a pumpkin last year.

After the abrupt, emotional exit from California, nobody would have blamed him if he decided to call it quits – especially after finishing his monster 10-year contract, something that’s not even an option for today’s NHLers.

And yet, here he is – playing some of the best hockey since helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup back in 2014.

Quick signed with the New York Rangers over the offseason to give Igor Shesterkin some relief. But with Shesterkin dealing with some injury concerns in recent weeks, Quick has delivered a 6-0-1 record with two shutouts and a .930 save percentage – well above Shesterkin’s .916 in 11 games. No goalie in the NHL has a better standard save percentage than Quick.

His worst statistical effort came last night when he allowed four goals on 31 shots. He still managed to lead the Rangers to a win over the top-seeded Boston Bruins.

The Connecticut native has a .924 SV% at 5-on-5. According to Natural Stat Trick, of all NHL goaltenders with at least seven games played this year – the same number that Quick has – that’s good for 16th out of 48 eligible keepers. Hockey Reference has Quick’s goals saved above average at 7.0 this year – a stark contrast from his awful minus-23.6 last year.

Since 2018-19, Quick has only had one season with a positive GSAA, and that was his 3.4 GSAA from 2021-22. Every other year, he’s been one of the worst goaltenders in the league.

In his prime, Quick was easily one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. He finished as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in 2011-12, the year he won the Conn Smythe and helped Los Angeles win a surprising Stanley Cup. He then snagged the Jennings Trophy in 2013-14 before winning the Cup a second time. Two years later, he was a Vezina finalist again after recording a career-best 40 wins. But since his injury-shortened 2016-17 campaign, Quick has rapidly declined. He won 33 games in 2017-18, but hasn’t come close to the 30-win threshold ever since.

When Quick was moved to the Golden Knights at the trade deadline last year, the Columbus Blue Jackets legend started strong with four straight wins. But his overall stats were ugly, and he eventually found himself on the outside looking in come playoff time. Quick got to lift the Cup for the third time in his career, but he didn’t see a minute of playoff action.

Goaltending hasn’t been a concern for the Rangers early on. Even Louis Domingue looked great in his lone start. But Quick has two shutouts, and given he had to step up big with Adam Fox also on the sidelines, that was critical in keeping the Rangers afloat as of late. Any time you can rely on your backup to steal wins is important, and Quick might be the best backup Shesterkin has had as a starter.

If there’s one takeaway, it’s that Rangers goalie coach Benoit Allaire deserves his own Hockey Hall of Fame induction. It’s hard to “fix” a veteran goaltender, but since Quick joined the Rangers, he’s been born again. It’s a small sample size, but this is vintage Jonathan Quick material.

The one noticeable trait in Quick’s game is his flexibility, which seems to be back on point. He’s had numerous surgeries over the years that seemed to slow him down, but he’s moving like he’s 25 again.

Quick recently became the first American-born goaltender to record 60 career shutouts. Only Marc-Andre Fleury (547) has more wins among active NHLers than Quick’s 380. Ryan Miller is the only American keeper with more wins at 391, a number Quick could realistically pass this year. It’s unfortunate the past few years were so ugly for Quick, because very few goaltenders in his career have come close to matching his numbers.

With all his NHL accomplishments, including two Olympic appearances – highlighted by his silver in 2010 as a third-stringer – Quick will be a Hockey Hall of Famer at some point. But after watching him work like he’s done the past few weeks, it feels like a fourth Stanley Cup might be in the cards for the second-oldest active goaltender in the NHL.

Not bad for someone just about everyone wrote off, huh?

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