Kings Carry Goalie Woes Into All-Star Break
Photo by Karl B Deblaker / AP Photo
L.A. enters the break sitting at second place in the Pacific Conference with Vegas and Edmonton right on their tail. The Kings look to be primed for a playoff spot if they can continue playing well, but their goaltending problems may lead them to fall out of this race.
The Kings currently rank 30th in the NHL with a team save percentage of .881. The Kraken, whom the Kings are tied for points with in the Pacific, at 25 are the only other team currently holding a playoff spot to be below 17th in the league. The Kings can expect a quick exit in the playoffs if their goaltending stays like this.
The Kings entered the season with a 37-year-old Jonathan Quick on the last year of his deal, and newly extended Cal Peterson as their goalie tandem. After playing in ten games Peterson was put on waivers and now is in the AHL as well as his $5 million per year contract. The Kings thrusted 31-year-old veteran Pheonix Copley into net and he immediately impressed as he became the quickest Kings goalie to record 12 wins doing so in only 14 games. Since this point he has struggled, his save percentage has fallen under .900 and has games where he allowed two goals in 39 seconds to the Predators before being pulled and he just blew a three goal third quarter lead to the Hurricanes to close out the first half of the season.
The goaltending issue has been a problem for the Kings for many seasons, in part to the front office trading the wrong goalies and keeping Quick way past his prime. In the 2017-2018 season three goalies played for the Kings: Jonathan Quick, Darcy Kuemper, and Jack Campbell. Kuemper was promptly traded to Arizona where would become an All-Star before being the starting goalie for the Stanley Cup winning Avalance this past season. Campbell stayed rostered for another season and a half before being shipped to Toronto where he too became an All-Star. All the while Quick’s play continued to deteriorate and their chosen successor in Peterson has been relegated to the AHL and is still on the books at a nearly $4 million cap hit through the 2024-25 season.
Quick’s near $6 million dollar contract comes off the books after this season which should allow the Kings to be players for a top goalie this offseason. In the meantime it appears difficult for the Kings to acquire a high end rental goalie for the playoff push this season, seemingly riding the Copley/Quick pairing until the wheels fall off.
