The Kings have traded Jonathan Quick

According to multiple online reports, the Los Angeles Kings have traded goaltender Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blues Jackets in exchange for what we believe to be a package that includes defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. The deal is not yet official and all of the parts have not yet been reported, but NHL insiders Frank Seravalli and Elliotte Friedman have broken news of the deal late this evening.

Check it out:

Again, we don't yet have the details of this trade but according to Seravalli and Friedman, we know that Quick, Gavrikov, Korpisalo and a 1st round pick are all in play. What else is involved hasn't yet been reported. Stay tuned.

This deal shouldn't come as such a huge surprise, yet it's always somewhat of a shock to see a franchise icon like Quick changing locales. The Kings have been linked to Gavrikov for awhile now, but those rumors had mostly cooled off in the past week. It was believed that Gavrikov was close to ending up in Boston before the Bruins got cold feet on a deal with the Blue Jackets and opted to pick up Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals. Either way, he'll be a good fit for the Kings. He and Korpisalo both represent needs in the Kings' lineup and are solid additions, no doubt. More to come on both of these players but... we have to talk about the biggest part of this reported trade: The end of the Jon Quick Era in LA.

Quick is a franchise ICON in Los Angeles and has been the backbone of the franchise through its absolute best years. The best goaltender in franchise history and, frankly, it's not even close. There's an argument to be made that he might be the most accomplished player history, goaltender or otherwise, in Kings history. And now he's gone and according to Seravalli, he's not happy about it.

Seravalli reports this evening that Quick is not happy with the transaction.

Check it out:

Can't say I blame the guy... 

I mean, he's currently on a flight with all of his now ex-teammates while this all plays out in public:

He's in year 10 of a crazy 10 year contract that somehow actually worked out to be a bargain for the Kings. Quick has been a stellar and, at times, brilliant netminder for the Kings for over a decade now and he only cost them $5.8 million against the salary cap. He's a two time Stanley Cup winner and a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and he's been with the team his entire career. Just let him play out the string and ride off into the sunset. Now he's gotta play out the last two months of his illustrious career in a new city for a new team? That's a rough way to treat a franchise icon...

As for Gavrikov and Korpisalo, again I think they'll both be great additions to this team. Gavrikov is a pending UFA and has made it clear that he intends on testing free agency, but if you consider him as a playoff rental who can provide some backend stability then he's a good acquisition. And Korpisalo frankly just gives the team an upgrade on Quick. While I gassed up Quick pretty well earlier, it's safe to say that he isn't the goaltender he used to be. He's struggled this season and has posted some of the worst statistics of his career. He sports a 3.50 goals against average (GAA) and a .876 save percentage with 11 wins in 31 starts for the Kings this season. That's a far cry from even just a couple seasons ago for Quick.

Korpisalo though has also had an inconsistent campaign, but has shown stretches of solid play for a very weak Blue Jackets team. Like Gavrikov, Korpisalo is a pending UFA so there's little risk for the Kings in giving him a shot between the pipes. I suspect that fans will pile on him pretty quickly if he can't fill Quick's shoes, which is unfair but it could also provide the laid back Finn with a bit of fire to re-ignite his passion along with a new team and a new opportunity. He's an intriguing addition, to be sure.

More to come on this developing story, including official confirmation.