Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi said over the weekend that he planned on starting contract discussions with star goaltender Jonathan Quick.
He certainly didn't waste any time as the process moved forward on Monday.
Quick's resume now includes a Stanley Cup championship, a Vezina Trophy nomination and the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. He has one year left on a contract that will pay him $1.8 million for the 2012-13 season, and following that, he could become an unrestricted free agent.
Even before Quick moved to the front of the line of NHL goaltenders, he was due for a substantial raise and the Kings were planning to address the situation sooner than later.
So, how much of a raise?
In some sense, the bar was set by the seven-year, $49-million contract signed last summer by goalie Pekka Rinne with Nashville. Rinne finished third in the Vezina Trophy voting behind winner Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Quick.
"The one thing I do sense is that I do think that both sides want to get something done," Lombardi said on NHL Live on the NHL Network. "And that goes without saying. A lot of times the deals don't come together because people aren't ready to make deals. ... But in this case, I get the sense that we have a chance to get something done here before next season."
The Kings finalized multi-year contracts with veteran forwards Jarret Stoll and Colin Fraser on Monday and Lombardi and Kings Coach Darryl Sutter are planning to meet with forward Dustin Penner this week. Penner is due to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Quick, 26, talked about keeping the core of the team together when he was in Las Vegas for the NHL Awards on Wednesday.
"It's a younger group," he said to The Times. "You want to keep everyone here, keep as much of this team intact as you can. Obviously we know it's part of the game where some guys get moved and it's unfortunate. But we want to keep as much of the team intact.
"We really love the group. The chemistry we have in the room is awesome."
--Lisa Dillman
