Quick out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery

I’ll continue to build this story as we learn more, but here’s the gist of it, according to LA Kings PR:

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is out indefinitely following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

Several notes:

–Though the early word back from hockey operations on Saturday night was that Quick was “day-to-day,” that’s often the early, default response for any player who is injured for any terminable length of time and gets updated as more information becomes clear. In Quick’s case, that happened fast, and his status was updated and shared after surgery.

–This is different from the location of the injury that kept him off the ice for two weeks early in the season, for those wondering.

–The timeline remains indefinite, but having consulted with several colleagues in athletic training who work in hockey (but not with the Kings), it sounds like the length of Quick’s absence will be based on whether they had to just trim the torn part of the meniscus, or whether it actually had to be repaired. A “trimming” procedure requires a recovery period of multiple weeks, while a more comprehensive repair carries a loose timeline of approximately two months. The timelines for both options are based on what else is found in the knee.

–Quick has dealt with injuries ranging from “significant” to “major” in recent years. Shortly after the team’s 2012 Stanley Cup, he underwent surgery to correct a herniated disc in his back that would’ve cut well into 2012-13 had the work stoppage not delayed the start of the season until mid-January. Early in 2013-14, he suffered a Grade 2 groin strain that caused him to miss 24 games. After winning the 2014 Cup, he underwent wrist surgery that carried a 10-to-12 week recovery timeline. One period into the 2016-17 season, he suffered another groin injury that kept him sidelined for 59 games.

–Jack Campbell, through the first month of the season, is 3-4-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and one shutout in eight appearances, all starts. Quick was 0-3-1 with a 4.55 GAA and an .845 Sv%, and in nearly 30 minutes of action, Peter Budaj has a 0-0-0 record, a 2.00 GAA and a .909 Sv%. There is no immediate word on how the Kings plan on rotating their goaltenders, and whether Cal Petersen might ultimately be summoned up to the parent club. For what it’s worth, Ottawa’s Mike Condon was placed on waivers earlier today.

–Over 9,465 minutes from the 2013-14 season through Sunday’s game, goaltenders other than Jonathan Quick – that’s Campbell, Budaj, Darcy Kuemper, Jeff Zatkoff, Jhonas Enroth, Ben Bishop, Martin Jones and Ben Scrivens – have combined to go 79-58-16 with a 2.19 GAA and a .919 Sv% for the Kings.

–More to come today and tomorrow.

–Lead photo via Adam Pantozzi/NHLI