Jonathan Quick Jersey Card

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Tonight, Jonathan Quick will suit up as the starter for the New York Rangers for their final game of the season... and of his (likely) Hall of Fame career.

A two-time Vezina Trophy nominee, 2012 Conn Smythe winner and 2014 and 2018 Jennings Trophy winner, Quick is the winningest American goalie to date (he will likely be surpassed by Connor Hellebuyck at some point) with 410 regular-season and 49 playoff wins; his name is engraved three times on the Stanley Cup - in 2012 and 2014 with the Los Angeles Kings, and as part of the backup options for the 2023 Vegas Golden Knights. He was also on the Team USA squad that won the 2010 silver Olympic medal.

For the better part of the 2010s, he had the fastest legs and reflexes in the game, eventually surpassed by the Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy. Here is Quick in his prime, wearing the Kings' black (home) uniform, with a matching game-worn jersey swatch on card #GJ-JQ from Upper Deck's 2014-15 Series One set and Game Jersey sub-set:

Here's wishing him the best in retirement!

Jonathan Quick Swatch Card

For a couple of seasons now, Jonathan Quick has been giving Henrik Lundqvist a run for his money as the league's most consistent - and best - goalie. A Conn Smythe winner last season, a Vezina nominee, he is pretty much a lock-in for a spot on Team USA's roster for the next Olympics. It could be the first time that the Americans have stronger goaltending than Canada since the 1996 World Cup - although Team Canada was to blame for that one, having chosen Bill Ranford, Curtis Joseph and Martin Brodeur over Patrick Roy.

Quick is the main reason why his Los Angeles Kings are back in the series against the San Jose Sharks, with a 3-0 shutout in his last game to give his team a 3-2 series lead, which makes today the perfect time to feature this terrific swatch card:

It's from Panini's 2010-11 Crown Royale set (card #JQ, the Heirs To the Throne sub-set) and features a beautiful black swatch. It is numbered 126/250 and has the following text on the back:

Jonathan Bernier has been breathing down Quick's neck, looking to dislodge him from the No. 1 goaltender job in L.A. Bernier can save his breath for now, Quick looked like a wall when 2010-11 got going, winning seven of his first eight starts on the strength of an awesome 1.84 GAA.

I'm a fan of both goalies, but it's hard to argue that Quick is not deserving of his spot. I don't care how much you have to plan for the future, Quick's with the Kings for another decade and is a Vezina contender for at least 5 of those seasons. In my opinion, this is like the Roberto Luongo situation with the Vancouver Canucks prior to this season - you have to stick with the (proven) long-term commitment and trade away the prospect; they can't do that anymore, but the Kings will have to.