Becoming the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history wasn’t at the forefront of Jonathan Quick’s mind when he was a free agent this past offseason.
At 38, with three Stanley Cup rings already in his possession, Quick still prioritized going to a playoff team. His wife, Jaclyn, and his two children, Madison and Carter, were also important for him to consider when, just a few months prior, they all thought their lives would remain in Los Angeles.
New York made a lot of sense for Quick, who grew up a Rangers fan in Connecticut.
The Rangers organization has also allowed Quick to pull within four wins of tying Ryan Miller for the most among American-born netminders — a feat that is well within reach this season.
“Obviously, I’m aware of it and kind of getting a little bit closer,” Quick said before he backed up Igor Shesterkin for the first time in three games as the Rangers defeated the Blackhawks in overtime Friday night in Chicago.
“I think the best way — and it’s something I’ve always tried to do throughout my career — is just staying in the moment. I know the possibility of reaching that record, I have to win the next game in order to be a little bit closer. It’s always a thing where you’re just focused on where you’re at today, what you have to do today in order to be ready for the next game. That has been my approach for a long time.
“I think our position, it’s easy to look forward or look behind and I found that just having the mindset of staying in the moment, whatever you can do today to help yourself for tomorrow, take it one day at a time. I’ve always felt for me, at least, was the best approach.”
Quick, sitting on 387 wins, said he hasn’t necessarily been keeping track of how close he is to breaking a record that’s been in place since February 2019. When he moved into second place last season, however, he naturally checked to see how far he was from Miller’s 391 wins.
Depending on their cap situation and how much longer he intends to play, the Rangers could potentially be the team Quick not only establishes the record with but also the club with which he finishes his Hall-of-Fame career.
There haven’t been any contract extension conversations yet, but it is just a matter of time.
It’s safe to say that if Quick continues to play at the level he has — a third-ranked goals-against average (2.27) and a sixth-ranked save percentage (.919) — he won’t be playing for $825,000 next season.
The Rangers aren’t in a position to be paying their “backup” goaltender any more than, say, $1.5 million, but a contract structured with performance bonuses similar to the deal he’s currently on should be in play.
For a chance to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup for a fourth time, Quick should be amenable.
Igor Shesterkin is also in the third season of a four-year deal and will need to be extended at some point.
It’s a pretty ideal goaltending tandem for a Rangers team that considers itself to be in the middle of a championship window.
“You’re taking it one game at a time, right?” Quick said. “Obviously, the start before the break was a back-to-back situation. I assumed I was playing one of the two. Turned out I was playing the Ottawa game, so just kind of get ready for that game. We had the break, just try to take care of yourself and get ready for when you come back.
“Obviously, we’re going to start the playoff push now. So I was aware I was playing the Colorado game and prepared for that. Then the next day I was told I was playing the Tampa game, so just prepare for that. You just try to stay in the moment, take it day by day, whatever comes, be ready for it.”