Los Angeles Kings have a promising future in the crease

The Los Angeles Kings have signed Calvin Petersen to an extension, which gives them a pretty crowded goalie crease. That might be a good thing.

The Los Angeles Kings don’t have too much going for them right now. Objectively, their NHL roster is one of the worst in the league. It is riddled with mediocre players and older players signed to long-term deals. However, they do have something they can hang their hat on – their goaltending.

Even though starting goaltender and two-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick is showing signs of a huge decline, Jack Campbell was terrific for the Kings last season. In 31 appearances (25 starts) the 27-year-old goaltender posted a .931 save percentage. He was a bright spot on a team that didn’t have many.

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Campbell has one year left on his deal and will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2019-20 season. He gives the Kings the flexibility needed to potentially move Quick to another team. At the very least, Campbell has proven he deserves an extended look in the NHL. Whether the opportunity comes with the Kings or another team, he’s earned a chance to be a starting goaltender.

Calvin Petersen recently signed a three-year extension. However, the structure of it is a bit interesting. Petersen has a two-way deal in his first year. But starting in his second year, he has a one-way deal. This means Petersen, no matter where he’s playing, will get $858,333 in the last two years of his three-year deal.

What does that mean? It means the Kings feel confident Petersen will be ready to be an NHL goalie at the end of this season. Judging by his numbers (.924 save percentage in 11 games), that’s an interesting amble. This gives the team a very nice problem to have – too much goaltending.

If you have too many good goalies, it’s not really a problem. Someone will be willing to take on one of your goalies. Ideally, that would be Quick. But unless he has a bounceback season in 2019-20 after a rough 2018-19 season, it will be hard to motivate a team to take on his contract.

There is, however, a silver lining about Quick’s contract. It’s front-loaded. This season, just like the six seasons before this one, Quick will make $7 million in salary. However, after the 2019-20 season, his salary drops to $3.5 million in 2020-21. In 2021-22, it drops to $3 million. Finally, it drops to $2.5 million in 2022-23.

If Quick can have a solid season in 2019-20, moving him to a team looking to hit the salary cap floor might have interest in him. They might not even have to retain any salary. Also, the looming Seattle expansion draft could be a good time for the Kings to part with Quick.

Expect to see Campbell as the primary backup for Los Angeles. They’ll probably try to split the starts between Campbell and Quick, as they try to figure out precisely what they have in the former. He could be another target for Seattle, as the Kings might want Quick to mentor Petersen.

Since Petersen is still exempt from waivers, he’ll likely return to the AHL. He needs as many starts as possible since the Kings will be relying on him to be on the NHL roster in 2020-21. Whether it’s Quick or Campbell, someone who’s on the roster right now won’t be on it in a year.

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The Kings are in a pretty good spot with their goaltending. They’ve got options for this season. Maybe the Kings decide to trade Campbell to a team looking to add some goaltending at the trade deadline. Perhaps they’ll work something out with Seattle. The Kings future is very foggy right now. But their goaltending provides them with a much-needed glimmer of hope.

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