21/22 Kings Seasons In Review – Jonathan Quick

With the group evaluations now in the past, we’ll go player-by-player throughout the remainder of the roster for those who spent the 2021-22 season with the Kings in its entirety.

Starting things off are the goaltenders – Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen. Beginning the season in a timeshare, it was the veteran Quick who seized control of the net over the first few months over the season, as well as down the stretch, to earn the bulk of the starts as the Kings pushed for, and eventually locked up, a playoff spot. Quick went on to start all seven games in the postseason as well, producing solid efforts throughout the series with Edmonton to keep the Kings in it until the very end.

Jonathan Quick
NHL Statline – 46 games played, 2686 minutes played, 23-13-9 record, 2.59 goals against average, .910 save percentage, .925 even-strength save percentage, 2 shutouts
NHL Playoff Statline – 7 games played, 385 minutes played, 3-4 record, 3.43 goals against average, .904 save percentage, .935 even-strength save percentage, 1 shutout

It was a great season for Jonathan Quick. From his strong play throughout the regular season, especially during the first half and down the stretch, to his heroic efforts in Game 7 to bring the Kings ever so close to the second round, it’s hard not to be pretty happy with Quick’s performances. Quick’s save percentage was his highest since the 2017-18 season, the last time the Kings made the postseason before 2022, with other numbers across the board trending positively for the veteran.

“I think the thing that really stands out with Jonathan is his competitiveness,” Kings General Manager Rob Blake said. “I think fans and players from around the league see it on a daily basis, but the players see it a little bit differently, because it’s all about the team with him. On the ice, a fierce competitor, a guy that will do anything to get the win and at the end of the day, I think that’s what matters most to him, actually I know that’s what matters most to him. That’s what’s made him so special.”

Trending Up – Quick was one of three goaltenders to go from a sub .900 save percentage last season to a .910 or higher clip here in 2021-22, joining Carter Hart and Frederik Andersen. Quick followed that up with a very solid postseason – his numbers were skewed by the lopsided scores in Games 2 and 3, but he still posted a .914 save percentage across the six games he went the distance in.

Per MoneyPuck, Quick ranked seventh out of 119 goaltenders in the NHL in goals saved above expected during the regular season, a ranking that improves to fifth-best in the league on a per/60 basis. The latter is among netminders with at least 45 or more games played. Quick’s 1.55 goals-against average at 5-on-5 was the best in the NHL, embodying the Kings in some ways. A terrific even-strength team, the Kings kept the puck out of their net at 5-on-5 better than any other team in the league when Quick in net.

Quick’s first half of the season was on an elite level, helping to carry the load between the pipes from October through December. At the holiday break, Quick ranked seventh in the NHL with a .930 save percentage, despite just an 8-6-4 record, keeping games close with a 2.19 goals-against average during that span, ranking eighth-best in the NHL over that stretch. Despite a rise in Cal Petersen’s play from January through March, which saw more of a split between the pair, Quick took the net for good down the stretch, starting seven straight games in April, with six victories, to lock up a playoff berth for the Kings.

Trending Down – Hard to find a ton of faults from a season in which we had so many positives, though Quick’s numbers did come down from Christmas through mid-March, the same timeframe that Petersen began to rebuild his own game. The numbers hardly impacted his record, however, Quick still posted an 8-6-3 mark during a stretch when his save percentage was just .879 and his goals-against average was 3.27. Perhaps there’s something to his own evaluation of goaltending statistics, which only places value on one total – wins. Nearly identical records over two stretches in which his save percentage was more than 50 points different.

Quick was close to the top of the league in rebound attempts against per game, as one of six qualifying goaltenders at more than four per game, perhaps a number that led to the shortest goals-against distance in the NHL. At the same time, Quick posted a .842 high-danger save percentage, tied for 12th best in the league, showing his ability to make saves on higher-quality chances, typically judged to be ones inside the house around the crease.

Quick also posted one of the NHL’s lowest save percentages on the penalty kill, though it was right in line with Petersen’s, showing a larger-scale issue for the Kings while a man down, rather than a reflection on Quick specifically. Overall, these are targeted, perhaps even cherry-picked stats from what was a good season for the veteran netminder.

2021-22 Status – Quick enters next season with one year left on his ten-year contract, one that he signed following his first Stanley Cup in 2012. You wouldn’t know by asking him, though, when he was unaware he was entering the last year on his deal a few weeks back during the team’s exit tnterviews. That’s what happens when you sign for ten years!

At this time, both Kings netminders – Quick and Petersen – are under contract and their large cap hits overlap for the first time. Quick has one season left at a $5.8 million cap hit, while Petersen’s new, three-year extension kicks in at $5.0 million per season. Next year, that adds up to more than $10 million against the cap, the third-highest cap hit for a goaltending tandem entering the 21-22 season. The Kings ranked seventh in the regular season in goals against per game, something they’ll need to see continue into next season.

Up next, we’ll take a look at Quick’s batterymate, Cal Petersen and his 2021-22 season to round out the goaltenders!

PAST QUICK REVIEWS – 2021