Per multiple sources, the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets made a late-night trade Tuesday night involving a two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender. The Kings are sending goalie Jonathan Quick, a conditional first-round draft pick in 2023, and a third-round draft pick in 2024 to the Blue Jackets for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. The official trade announcement should be coming late Wednesday morning.
Quick is in his 16th season as the Kings’ netminder and won Stanley Cups with Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014 while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason Most Valuable Player in 2012. The Milford, Connecticut native holds a career record of 370-275-82 with a 2.46 goals against average (GAA) and a .911 save percentage. In the postseason,, Quick made a name for himself with a 2.31 GAA, and a .921 save percentage. The 37-year-old was a third-round pick of Los Angeles in 2005 (72nd overall), the same draft that included Carey Price and Tuukka Rask.
Gavrikov is a left-shot defenseman who should add size and the ability to play shut-down defense for the Kings. As the trade deadline approached, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound blue liner was the subject of trade rumors linking him to many teams. It was reported that a deal was in place to send Gavrikov to Boston recently. Still, the Bruins would eventually acquire defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals. In 52 games with Columbus, the Russian defender has three goals and ten assists with a minus-8 rating. The sixth-round pick in the 2015 draft has 15 goals and 58 assists in 256 career revaluation season games. Gavrikov has played in 12 postseason games with one goal and two assists and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and carries a $2.8 million salary cap hit.
Korpisalo has played 28 games for Columbus with an 11-11-3 record, a 3.17 GAA, and a .911 save percentage. The former third-round pick of the Jackets in 2012 (62nd overall) has played in 210 regular season games with an 87-78-24 record. The 28-year-old has a career GAA of 3.06, and a .903 save percentage. Korpisalo is 3-5 in the postseason but owns an impressive .941 save percentage and 1.90 GAA. The Finnish netminder is an unrestricted free agent with a $1.3 million cap hit.
The Kings are tied for first place in the Pacific Division, with the Vegas Golden Knights at 76 points. Los Angeles averages 3.3 goals per game but allows 3.29 per contest. The Blue Jackets are struggling through a disappointing season and are currently last in the NHL with 46 points after signing free agent Johnny Gaudreau in the off-season. This trade will allow Columbus to stockpile draft picks while trading away two unrestricted free agents who were not going to be retained by the club.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday, March 3, at 4 pm Eastern time.
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