LOS ANGELES — The symbolism seemed obvious when Kings coach Todd McLellan chose Cal Petersen over Jonathan Quick as the starting goaltender for the team's season opener in October.
The decision created images of a torch being passed from the ring-adorned hands of the core group that won two Stanley Cup championships to the skilled but largely unproven hands of the kids entrusted with ending the franchise's post-Cup decline. Quick had earned nearly every significant goaltending record in franchise history over his 14 seasons and had started every regular-season opener since 2009, but there was no room for nostalgia when fans and players needed a playoff berth to sustain their faith in a long rebuilding process.
Besides, the calendar doesn't lie: He was 35 when the season began and had undergone shoulder surgery five months earlier after playing only 22 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. It seemed time for Quick, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty — the remaining players from the Kings' 2012 and 2014 Cup teams — to begin receding into the background while the next generation rose to the top of the depth chart. It was a sensible plan until Quick shredded it by rekindling his old ferocity and displaying the legendary flexibility of his younger days to win back the No. 1 job.
