Jonathan Quick Is The Key To 2012-13 For The Los Angeles Kings

By Randy Holt

It’s been well-documented that without Jonathan Quick, there’s no Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings, and very likely no postseason. That part is obviously no secret, especially since Quick took home the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The question is going to be whether or not Quick can repeat that performance in the upcoming season. For some, this may not be a question, but others do wonder whether or not he can maintain that Stanley Cup form.

Though he did so quietly, given that he plays most of his games after half of the country has gone to bed, Jonathan Quick clearly established himself as one of the league’s best goaltenders last year. The numbers are there to back it up. Quick put up numbers that were Vezina worthy in ’11-’12. Had he not been up against the New York market for the award, he may have had another piece of hardware to add to the collection.

The physical stuff is all there. Quick lives up to his name as moves around the crease as well as anyone in the game. He has the ability to take the team and put it on his back and steal some games, as we saw so many times over the course of last season.

Health is really the only concern for Quick at this point. Should his “minor” back surgery from earlier this summer take any longer than the six weeks needed to completely heal, then there will be some questions to answer. But as it stands right now, that is probably very unlikely.

Health being the only concern, next year should prove that Jonathan Quick is not only one of the league’s top netminders, but one of the top few players overall. Last year was no fluke. Quick has been a rising star in this game for some time and he is here to stay. Los Angeles should look forward to watching him control the crease at Staples Center for the next decade.

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