NHL Rumors: Big Update On Jonathan Quick's NHL Future

Monday, April 13, 2026 , ,
New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick reacts during 2026 game.

Jonathan Quick has had a remarkable second act. 

After a legendary thirteen-year run with the Kings that produced two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012, and a pair of Vezina Trophy nominations, Quick reinvented himself as a respected backup, first in Vegas, where he won his third Cup in 2023, then across three one-year deals with the New York Rangers. 

In February 2025, he became the first American-born goaltender in NHL history to win 400 games. A month later, the Rangers extended him again at $1.55 million (his third consecutive one-year deal in New York), and Quick said flatly that retirement wasn't on his mind. 
"I don't know, it's not something you're thinking about constantly," he said. "Glad to have an answer for my kids at least." 

He talked about how playing alongside guys half his age kept him young, and how 40 had snuck up on him faster than expected. 

That was last March. This season has been a different story. 

Quick is 6-16-2 with a 3.09 goals-against average and .893 save percentage at 40 years old, and when Igor Shesterkin went down with a serious injury in early January, Quick couldn't hold the fort. The Rangers went off the rails. His current deal expires this summer, and there's no indication any new one is coming.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Quick's decline this season is stark when measured against his own recent standard. 

In his first year with New York he went 18-6-2 with a 2.62 GAA and .911 save percentage. Even last season, a rough one for the Rangers as a team, Quick still posted an 11-7-2 record.

This year's numbers at 40 are the worst of his Ranger tenure by a significant margin, and the team around him has already begun its retool. 

With Mike Sullivan behind the bench and young Dylan Garand pushing from within the system, the Rangers might be ready to make their next crease move. 

What Comes Next

If Quick does walk away, and the expectation around the league is increasingly that he will, the Rangers need a backup for Shesterkin, who remains the unquestioned starter. 

Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Stuart Skinner has been floated as the most logical target, as the 27-year-old will be a UFA this summer coming off a three-year deal with a $2.6 million cap hit. 

He's been quietly solid in Pittsburgh after a tumultuous run in Edmonton, and a one-year show-me deal in a lower-pressure backup role on a big market team has a real appeal. 

Quick himself grew up watching the Rangers from his home in Connecticut, beat them in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, and then signed with them to close out his career on what's felt like his own terms. 

He's moved his family across the country and said a year ago he would prefer to retire in New York. This looks like it could be it for the legendary goalie and his great career.

Over his 19-year NHL career, Quick has recorded a .910 SV%, 2.52 GAA, 65 shutouts, and a 410-306-90 record across 828 games played.

Photo Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

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