Kings trade Quick to Jackets for Gavrikov, Korpisalo

The Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets have pulled off a blockbuster swap.

The Kings traded goaltender Jonathan Quick, a conditional 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 third-rounder to the Blue Jackets for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and netminder Joonas Korpisalo on Wednesday.

If Los Angeles misses the playoffs, Columbus will receive second-round picks in 2023 and 2024 instead of the 2023 first-round selection.

Quick has struggled in recent years but is a Kings franchise icon. He led Los Angeles to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014 and is the club's all-time leader in wins, saves, and shutouts - though he also tops the team in all-time losses and goals against by virtue of having played more games for L.A. than any other puck-stopper.

"Jonathan Quick is a two-time Stanley Cup winner who has been an outstanding goaltender in our league for a long time, and this deal provides us with draft capital that will be valuable as we move forward as an organization," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said.

The pending unrestricted free agent is in the final season of the 10-year extension he inked with the Kings in 2012. It carries a $5.8-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly. Quick is 11-13-4 with a .876 save percentage over 31 contests in 2022-23.

Gavrikov was one of the NHL's top remaining trade targets ahead of the March 3 deadline. The steady rearguard is a pending UFA on a $2.8-million cap hit. He has three goals and seven assists in 52 games this campaign, but he's also produced 89 blocked shots, 56 hits, and 19 takeaways with only 14 giveaways in 2022-23.

Much like the Russian blue-liner, Korpisalo had spent his entire NHL career with the Blue Jackets. The Finnish goalie, who's also a pending UFA, went 11-11-3 with a .911 save percentage in 28 games with Columbus this season. His cap hit is $1.3 million.

Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.