Player evaluation: Quick

JONATHAN QUICK
This season: 61 games, 35-22-3 record, 2.24 goals-against average, .918 save percentage.
The good: Quick set franchise records in 2009-10, then had to spend the summer listening to league pundits — many, not just one or two — openly predict that he would lose his job to Jonathan Bernier sooner rather than later. How did Quick respond? By showing up to training camp in outstanding shape, leading the Kings to a 12-3 start, finishing in the top five in the league in goals-against average and, in general, by quieting the chatter about his job status.
The bad: No goalie could match the type of torrid start that Quick had this season, but Quick wobbled in January as the Kings temporarily fell out of the playoff picture. When Quick is off his game, it’s easy to see. He looks, in general, less settled in the net, less poised and more opt to be out of position on opponents’ scoring chances. The number of those games this season, however, was reduced dramatically from previous seasons. Quick’s goals-against average was stellar, but his save percentage was good, not great.
Going forward: Quick took some heat in the playoffs for allowing 20 goals in six games, but the Kings’ stunning defensive collapse in front of him was far more to blame. Quick, in a way, seemed to relish the challenge of having Bernier behind him, looming as a threat to his job. The competition — or at least the threat of competition — seemed to push Quick to greater heights. He is perhaps the most fiery, competitive player on the roster, and that manifested itself in a good way this season and could do the same next season.