The New York Rangers ensured one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL will stay intact for at least one more year — the team announced on Sunday that it had signed veteran netminder Jonathan Quick to a one-year extension.
This season has provided a career renaissance for the 38-year-old, who joined the Blueshirts to back up former Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin on the first day of free agency last summer. Quick, who has two Stanley Cup titles and a pair of Jennings Trophies after 15-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, was initially forecasted to be playing out the remainder of a Hall-of-Fame career — his best days well in the rearview mirror — with a cushy job backing up one of the best goalies of hockey.
That hasn’t been the case. An inconsistent Shesterkin throughout the first half of the season forced Quick to take on a more intensive role to which he has answered the call brilliantly.
In 20 starts, he’s 13-5-2 with a .916 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average. He hasn’t had numbers comparable to that since 2017-18 when he was 32, won the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed, and finished top 10 in the Vezina voting.
His stellar campaign has been fueled by a near-perfect start in which he went 9-0-1 in his first 10 games with a 2.09 goals-against average, becoming the first netminder in franchise history to earn at least one point in his first 10 appearances with the team. The 13 wins in 20 games tied Dave Kerr, Lorne Chabot, and Shesterkin for the most through 20 career games to start a Rangers career.
Behind the tandem of Shesterkin and Quick, New York has allowed the third-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference this season and the fifth-fewest in the entire NHL.
For more on Jonathan Quick and the Rangers, visit AMNY.com
