Jonathan Quick Contract Would Provide Crucial Depth for Rangers Amid NHL Rumors

Analyst Kevin Weekes of NHL Network and ESPN reported it's "highly likely" that unrestricted free agent Jonathan Quick signs with his childhood favorite team, the New York Rangers, when free agency opens Saturday.

Quick is a three-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, most recently this past season with the Vegas Golden Knights. He made a career of getting hot at the right times, leading teams deep into the postseason and cashing a few of those trips in to hoist the most coveted prize in pro hockey.

Age and Father Time have been opponents of Quick, though, as he had suffered through injuries and diminishing play.

The 37-year-old out of Milford, Connecticut appeared in only 41 games in 2022-23, his win-loss record a middling 16-15.

He allowed an average of 3.41 goals per outing, had a .882 save percentage that was his worst since his rookie season in 2007-08, and did not look anything like one of the elite-level goaltenders he had been a decade ago when he was capturing his first Cup.

He does not have to be in New York, though.

Shesterkin is a top-tier goalie, or close to it, who accumulated 37 wins in 58 starts, played 3,489 minutes and delivered a .916 save percentage. Throw in another seven playoff starts, and an even better save percentage (.931), and you are set at the starter position.

Quick enters the picture behind Shesterkin, where there is a hole thanks to the impending departure of Jaroslav Halak. The team cannot afford Halak's deal and the goalie has expressed his desire to test the free agency market, per his agent.

Halak was very good from a save percentage, stopping roughly 90 percent of pucks that came his way. With that said, he was still only 10-9 as a starter, averaging 2.72 goals against in his time in the net.

Those numbers are still better than Quick's but with free agency calling and the Rangers being as cash-strapped as they currently are, there is no way to hold onto him and ensure depth behind Shesterkin should injury or fatigue arise.

So, Quick will come in on a deal that is likely team-friendly and hope to do with New York what he did with Los Angeles and Vegas: hoist another Stanley Cup while bringing veteran leadership to a team chasing the ultimate prize.

As long as he can muster some of his best stuff in key situations, the Rangers have a shot at a title. This is a team that took the New Jersey Devils to seven games in the playoffs and will have greater expectations of itself in the coming season.

Quick knows what it takes to get over that proverbial hump and achieve what every squad in the league wants. He brings knowledge, experience, and an understanding of how to perform at the most crucial of moments.

He may not have an excess of strong hockey left in him, but those attributes, as well as his ability to step in and perform when Shesterkin needs an off night, make him valuable to New York and the pursuit of their first title since 1994.