Jonathan Quick just needs to be good enough

When the Rangers signed Jonathan Quick to be the backup goalie to Igor Shesterkin, the reactions were mixed. Quick has always been a villain to Ranger fans for obvious reasons, and his declining play didn’t help matters. Quick hasn’t posted a .920 SV% since 2017-2018. He hasn’t been a full time starter since that season as well. But that’s not the expectation with Quick on the Rangers. He simply needs to be good enough for 20-25 games. That’s it.

If you’re expecting vintage Jonathan Quick, lower your expectations. The guy is going to be 38 in January and his numbers have been on the decline for multiple seasons. It also seems that expecting a .900 SV% from the backup isn’t realistic anymore. The NHL is starting to open up more and showcase skill. It’s great for the game, and it also means re-evaluating expectations for goalies.

There shouldn’t be much stress for Quick as the backup goalie since the expectations should be low. “Good enough” is subjective, but the goal is for Quick to simply keep the Rangers in it for 20-25 games during the regular season. Assuming all goes well, that’s the max number of games Quick will be playing and he likely won’t be seen in the playoffs.

For all intents and purposes, “good enough” for Quick means a .895 SV%, which would put him in the top-40 goalies based on last year’s stats. Jaro Halak put up a .903 SV% last season, which was 25h in the NHL. If the Rangers get that out of Quick, it’s a big win. Not many teams nowadays have two goalies above a .900 SV%. Shocking, right?

Like any bottom of the lineup player, the expectations for Quick shouldn’t be high. Again, Quick just needs to be good enough. Keep the Rangers in games, and rely on the skill up front to cover the difference. Anything more is just gravy.