@FlameRaptorRaven

3mo

The Quick King

With his final start in the books, Jonathan Quick officially completes his incredible career and retires as one of the best goaltenders of his generation. While his career ends with the Rangers, he will be forever known as an LA King. Drafted in the 3rd round in 2005, Quick was the 8th goalie off the board in a draft that included Carey Price. At the time, he was a backup at UMass; but seen as an electrifying talent, albeit one that lacked pedigree. He, along with Kings’ 1st round pick Anze Kopitar became the backbone of the Kings. It took a few years for Quick to arrive, but once he did for more than a few games, it became clear that the Kings had something. 3 years later, Quick was one of the best goalies in the NHL. He led the entire NHL in shutouts with 10 and finished 2nd in Vezina voting, only behind King Henrik, ironically. However, it would be the playoffs where Quick became a legend. In 2012, the Kings entered the playoffs as an 8th seed. They left those playoffs as the greatest 8th seed in sports history. They became the only team in NHL history to lead every single one of their playoffs 3-0 at some point. They only lost 4 games on their way to their first ever Stanley Cup. How? Jonathan Quick. Quick put up arguably the greatest playoff performance in NHL history, at least for a goalie. He put up a gargantuan .946 save percentage. It is the single highest save percentage for any goaltender that played more than 10 games in a single playoff run. He won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP for his efforts as the Kings won their first ever cup. 2 years later, the Kings were the 3rd place team in the Pacific and went on another run. While not as strong as 2012, the 2014 Kings do not win the Cup without Quick as their first 3 series all went to the full 7 games before beating King Henrik and the Rangers in the Cup Final to win their 2nd Cup in 3 years. Quick and the Kings would never win another playoff series together, although Quick did manage to win another cup after being traded to Vegas in 2023 and remaining their backup for their playoff run. His legacy is cemented as one of the very best playoff performers in NHL history. He will retire as the winningest goaltender goaltender in Kings’ history and finishes with the most wins for any American-born goaltender. Only Bob and Fleury accumulated more wins during his career. He ranks 12th all-time in career wins among all goalies and 17th all-time in shutouts with 65. Coincidentally, exactly 1 shutout ahead of Henrik Lundqvist. With a badass name, a strong legacy with the LA Kings and an enduring influence in California and American hockey, Jonathan Quick is truly a legend of the game with an outside chance to make the Hall of Fame.

Kings

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Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 1: The Hit that Started it All

I talked about this in my Jonathan Quick dyk, but the 2012 Kings entered the playoffs as an 8th seed and left them as the greatest 8th seed in sports history after winning the Stanley Cup in dominant fashion. They were so good that their regular season performance is the only thing keeping them away from the greatest team of all time discussions. Since I already talked about the most important compound, I want to talk about an incident that is considered THE catalyst for LA’s run. LA’s 1st round opponent was the Vancouver Canucks. They were the best team in the NHL, having repeated as the Presidents Trophy winner. They were also coming off a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2011. This was a down year by Vancouver’s lofty standards, but they remained ever potent. The Canucks were led by captain Henrik Sedin, one of the vaunted Sedin twins alongside his brother Daniel. Henrik had straight up been one of the 5 best players since the lockout. He was also the best passer in hockey, finishing with the most assists for the 3rd straight season. He was a genuine superstar and future Hall of Famer. The Kings were led on the ice by their tremendous goaltender, but their emotional leader was captain Dustin Brown. The American was drafted back in 2003 and was seen as the future during the 2005 lockout. While only 27, he was actually the longest tenured King and had even earned an ‘A’ during the 2010 Winter Olympics for Team USA. His bruising hard-working playstyle was admired by many. He may not lead them on the scoreboard, but he would be trusted to set the tone. Heading into this series, Vancouver wasn’t seen as invincible by any means. At the same time, they were the clear favourites. The consensus was LA could make it tough with elite play from Quick, but the Canucks would find a way to beat them. After 2 games, LA shocked everyone and had a 2-0 series lead. It wouldn’t mean anything if LA couldn’t capitalize. In Game 3, Vancouver remained resilient. They were dominating play after the 1st period. Even without his twin, Henrik remained a threat that had to be accounted for. Just a few minutes into the 2nd, Sedin laid off a backhand pass from in front of the Canucks bench and BANG. Dustin Brown pulverized Henrik Sedin. Teammate Mike Richards said he heard the hit before he saw it. The Canucks captain was clearly shaken up and could be seen scratching at the bench door while writhing on the ice. The tone had been set. LA would win that game off a Dustin Brown goal in the 3rd and win the series in 5, a major upset. To Henrik Sedin’s credit, the captain, who had unfairly been called soft by many the last 2 years, admitted the hit was clean despite many arguing the contrary. Taking that stance takes a lot more guts than everyone calling him soft had together. Henrik backed it up and was Vancouver’s best player. They just couldn’t overcome a juggernaut in the making. Dustin Brown scored 4 goals in 5 games against Vancouver and led the Kings in goals (8), assists (12), points (20) and plus/minus (+16) in the 2012 playoffs, all of which was tied with Anze Kopitar. If not for Quick’s ridiculous performance, he probably wins the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. He captained the Kings to a 2nd Cup in 2014. Dustin Brown will not be inducted in the Hall of Fame. However, he will forever be a Kings legend, maybe their greatest captain not named Anze Kopitar and a Stanley Cup hero.

@nationalryanleague

Vegas joins the NHL!

On June 22, 2016, Las Vegas officially became an NHL city when the league awarded Bill Foley’s expansion group the franchise that would become the Vegas Golden Knights. A decade later, that announcement looks like one of the best decisions the NHL has ever made. The Golden Knights became the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas, helping change the city’s reputation as a sports market, and paving the way for the NFL’s Raiders, MLB’s Athletics, and continued NBA expansion talks. Nobody could have known just how quickly the franchise would take off, seeing a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in its debut season, playoff appearances in eight of the first nine years, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023. Foley ended the announcement with a line that resonates in the heart of all who adore the team and have grown with them, “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it.” Go Vegas, baby!

@Bro

Biggest loser in Hockey?

This has been on my mind a lot lately and yes you can call me salty or whatever. On December 12th 2025 the Vancouver Canucks traded star player Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buimm, Liam Ohgren and a first round pick. Many Canucks like myself were very upset but saw it coming a 100 kilometres away. Buy as soon as Quinn Goes to the Wild he shows his true self. Before his first game against his former team he was asked about his former team and his response “honestly I don’t know any of there guys” Not a good look as*hat He was the Captain of the Canucks for two years and played there for almost 7 seasons. You know at least AT LEAST SIXTEEN OF THEM He also treated his tenure with the Canucks as a prison sentence always with one word answers but as soon as he goes to the Wild he’s all jolly. He never seemed happy even though his best years so far are with Vancouver. He never smiled and never did anything for this community he never cared to help people less fortunate in Vancouver especially going to B.C. Children’s Hospital where Canucks captains always have gone. No he’s done nothing. Sorry this was kinda a rant