Picture this: Goaltender Jonathan Quick, who was a central figure in the Kings’ 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championship runs, could stand in their way of winning a third title this season.
In a surprising move intended to upgrade several key areas, the Kings traded Quick to Columbus on Wednesday with a conditional first-round draft pick and a third-round pick for goalie Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
But his tenure there was short, because Columbus flipped him on Thursday to the Vegas Golden Knights, the team the Kings are battling for first place in the Pacific Division and for prime playoff seeding.
The Blue Jackets kept 50% of Quick’s cap hit in order for the deal to work for the Golden Knights. For acting as a middleman in the deal, Columbus received goalie Michael Hutchinson and a seventh-round draft pick from Vegas.
The Kings have one game left this season against the Golden Knights, on April 6 at Vegas.
Quick will see several familiar faces in Vegas, including former Kings teammates Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb and Michael Amadio.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.