The Los Angeles Kings have updated the timeline for Jonathan Quick‘s return, and it doesn’t paint a hopeful picture.
Quick was originally estimated to be sidelined for “about three months” when he went down with a groin injury in the club’s season opener.
The Kings’ No. 1 goaltender is could remain out of the lineup until March, general manager Dean Lombari told Helene Elliott of the L.A. Times.
Quick underwent a non-surgical procedure designed to strengthen a tendon rather than opting for surgery in mid-October.
“I guess I took the worst-case scenario in saying March,” Lombardi later clarified to NHL.com. “Everything is on schedule, no setbacks, nothing accelerated. Early February or mid-February.”
Journeyman backup Peter Budaj has been handling the bulk of the starts in the two-time Stanley Cup champion’s absence, performing reasonably well. Budaj’s 13-7-2 record and .907 save percentage have helped keep the Kings in the mix for a wild-card spot.
The Kings suffered a messy 6-3 defeat in Buffalo Tuesday night, after which star forward Jeff Carter described them as “a fragile team.”
Los Angeles’ team save percentage of .896 ranks 29th overall. Only Dallas is worse off in this category.
Lombardi told Elliott he is not ready “to throw the kitchen sink” — read: trade away meaningful assets — at his goaltending problem, however.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, New York Islanders and Winnipeg Jets are a few teams that may be coaxed to part with a goaltender — for the right price.
“There’s not a lot out there,” Lombardi told the league site. “To say there’s something [a trade] on the horizon? No.
“In the meantime I’ve got to do my job… if anybody who has watched us for 20 games or so, who has been at the top of their game? I don’t think you’re going to find a lot. I don’t know if any of our World Cup guys have been at the top.”
The NHL’s holiday trade freeze kicks in Dec. 19.
