When Jonathan Quick underwent, in the Kings’ words, a “minor surgical procedure” for an inflammatory cyst and a disc fragment back in August, the expectation was that Quick would be available around the start of training camp.
Of course, they meant when training camp was originally supposed to begin. Still, with the lockout about to end, Quick has finally received medical clearance, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott.
The timing of his injury and recovery meant that Quick continued to receive payments on his $1.7 million annual salary during the work stoppage. Those paychecks will balloon in 2013-14 when his 10-year, $58 million deal kicks in.
Quick was, of course, a huge part of the Kings’ Stanley Cup-winning run and it would have been a serious challenge for them to live up to expectations through the first half of the season without him.
Then again, it would have been an opportunity for backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier to show what he can do. As it is, the Bernier trade rumors should heat up again now that the season has been saved.
