Eklund: Jonathan Quick Retires…The Last of a Dying Breed?
I grew up playing goalie in the 80s mainly. My favorite goaltenders of all time were the guys who could make saves out of nowhere. Bernie Parent, Pelle Lindberg, Tim Thomas, Mike Richtre….and Jonathan Quick.
Quick officially announced his retirement today, closing the book on one of the most unique—and honestly underappreciated—careers of this era. Two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe and more… tonight will be his last NHL game as he suits up for the Rangers.
It's been an amazing career and I've been fortunate to be at some of these amazing games…. In an era that became about size, angles, and efficiency, Quick played chaos, reaction, and instinct….and somehow made it all work. At his peak, especially during that 2012 run with the Los Angeles Kings, he was stealing games. Shooters would make the right play…and still get denied. Quick was one of the few goalies who could get inside players heads…..
If you watched him closely, you always saw flashes of Mike Richter. That wasn’t accidental. Richter was Quick’s idol, especially watching him carry the New York Rangers to the 1994 Cup, and stylistically the connection is obvious. Both were aggressive, explosive, and relied on reflexes over textbook structure. They attacked the position. They trusted themselves. And when things broke down…they didn’t panic—they thrived. In my opinion, one of the biggest slights in the Hockey Hall of Fame is the fact that Mike Richter is not in there. Does that mean Jonathan Quick won't be in there as well? To me it sounds ridiculous to even say it.
My personal favorite story involving Jonathan Quick, is I'm sure going to be looked up upon his bizarre, but we have to realize that this guy was at his core bizarre. Some goalies play up on the fact that goalies are weird. Quick didn't play up on that fact Quick is weird. But that was one of the reasons to love this guy. He was awkward with the media, but honestly who cared?
So my story has to do with the media a little bit. It was six months before the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and I was covering the US team training camp that they spent three days in Washington DC. In order for all of us to interview with the players since all these guys were stars, they wanted to bring the players in a few at a time to the locker room as the day went on and each player was therefore given a time slot. Jonathan Quick timeslot was 245 to 305…. At 215 pm, I was in the locker room interviewing Ryan Miller, and then I turned around and saw Quick. One of the reporters said, “Jon, you'r