‘That was probably the most difficult one,’ Blake says of telling the Kings’ longtime goalie that he was being dealt to Columbus for Gavrikov and Korpisalo
The Kings will host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, but like Tuesday’s
Kings general manager Rob Blake said the Kings’ competitiveness throughout the season, and on two daunting road trips that essentially flanked the All-Star break, motivated him to address what the team had identified as gaps in its lineup some time ago.
While the Kings had been tied more closely to another left-shooting defenseman and potentially another goalie – Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun and Karel Vejmelka – Blake said there wasn’t “a pivot” toward Columbus per se. The Blue Jackets were one of a few potential partners that the Kings had been in contact with over the course of the season and this week talks intensified.
Fluidity was a factor in Gavrikov’s case, as the Boston Bruins nearly snagged him in mid-February but shifted gears when the Washington Capitals identified themselves as sellers and made Dmitry Orlov available. The Blue Jackets were once believed to be asking for a first-rounder and a third-rounder in exchange for Gavrikov alone, and here the Kings acquired another option in net for essentially that same price.
The Kings also added a goalie who, despite a history of inconsistency, has performed well behind a poor team this season and particularly so in his past five games, over which he’s posted a .933 save percentage. The Kings’ trio of goalies this season – Quick, Phoenix Copley and Cal Petersen, who is presently in the minors – had posted a collective .881 mark, second worst in the league.
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