Becoming the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history wasn’t at the forefront of Jonathan Quick’s mind when he was a free agent this offseason.
At 38 years old, Quick already has three Stanley Cup rings, but he still prioritized going to a playoff team. His wife, Jaclyn, and his two children, Madison and Carter, were also important to his consideration just a few months ago when he considered all of them remaining in Los Angeles.
New York meant a lot to Quick, who grew up a Rangers fan in Connecticut.
The Rangers organization also allows Quick to move within four wins of tying Ryan Miller for the most wins among American-born netminders, a feat that is well within reach this season.
“Of course we know that, and we’re getting closer and closer,” Quick said before relieving Igor Shesterkin for the first time in three games during the Rangers’ overtime victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday night. Told.
“The best thing to do, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do throughout my career, is to just stay in the moment. I know I have a chance of reaching that record, but to get even a little closer, I have to wait until the next game. We have to win. It’s always about just focusing on where we are today, what we have to do today to prepare for the next match. That’s been my approach for a long time. .
“I think our position is that it’s easy to look forward and look back, but with the mindset of staying in the moment and doing whatever we can do today to help ourselves for tomorrow, all at once. I’ve learned to take it one day at a time, and I’ve always felt, at least for me, that’s the best approach.”
Quick, who has 387 wins, said he doesn’t necessarily know how close he is to breaking the record, which has stood since February 2019. But when he rose to second place last season, he naturally checked to see what would happen. He wasn’t even close to Miller’s 391 wins.
Depending on his cap situation and how long he plans to play, the Rangers could be the team where Quick not only sets records, but also ends his Hall of Fame career.
There has been no talk of a contract extension yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
If Quick continues to play at his current level, third in goals against average (2.27) and sixth in save percentage (.919), it’s safe to say he won’t be playing for $825,000 next season. do not have.
The Rangers aren’t in a position to pay a “reserve” goaltender more than, say, $1.5 million, but a contract with performance bonuses similar to his current contract should be in play.
Quick should respond to get a chance to etch his name into the Stanley Cup for a fourth time.
Igor Shesterkin is also in the third season of a four-year contract and will likely need to be extended at some point.
This is a very ideal goaltending tandem for a Rangers team that thinks it’s in the middle of a championship window.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time, right?” Quick said. “Obviously, the start before the break was a back-to-back situation. I thought I was playing one of two things. It turned out I was playing the Ottawa game, so… Get ready for that game. Now that you’ve had some time off, please take care of yourself and be ready when you come back.
“Obviously, we’re going to start making a playoff run now. So I was conscious that we were playing the Colorado game, so I prepared for that. And the next day I was playing the Tampa game, so I prepared for that.” Just stay in the moment, accept each day as it comes, and try to be prepared for whatever happens.”
