On Tuesday, the New York Rangers hired Jonathan Quick as the new director of goaltending development.

In the same busy month that saw Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan step aside so son Quentin Dolan could become the new President, Chief Operating Officer and Alternate Governor of the New York Rangers on July 3, the organization continues to make changes.

After spending the final chapter of a Hall of Fame career with the Rangers, Quick will oversee the development of goaltenders in the organization. A very successful former player who won three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe, and became the winningest American-born goalie in NHL history with his 410 victories ranked 12th on the all-time list, Quick has a lot to offer younger players. It’ll be exciting to see what he can provide to help prepare goalies for the next level.

A former Los Angeles Kings 2005 third round pick, the Milford, Connecticut native grew into the greatest goalie in franchise history. In 2008-09, he won 21 games and posted a 2.48 goals-against-average with a .914 save percentage and four shutouts as a rookie. The following season, he became the starter winning 39 games with a 2.54 GAA, .907 save percentage, and four shutouts in a career best 72 starts.

It was in 2011-12 that Quick had his finest season. After winning 35 games while posting a 2.24 GAA, .918 save percentage, and six shutouts the previous year, he set career bests in GAA (1.95), save percentage (.929) and shutouts (10), which led the league. During the postseason, no goalie was better than him.

The Kings rode a hot Quick to their first Stanley Cup by defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games. In 20 games, he went a dominant 16-4 with a 1.41 GAA, .946 save percentage, and three shutouts. That memorable performance helped him win the Conn Smythe as the 2012 playoff MVP.

Two years later, he helped the Kings win their second Cup in three years. Most impressive was how they overcame trailing the San Jose Sharks 0-3 to pull off a historic comeback to win the first round series. After they won 6-3 in Game 5, he stopped 94 of 96 shots to backstop the Kings past the Sharks over the final three games.

The Kings came back to defeat the Ducks in seven to reach the Western Conference Finals. In an entertaining series, they edged the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in seven games. After Marian Gaborik tied it up in the third period, Alec Martinez won the series in overtime.

In a very closely fought series that saw the Kings overcome third period deficits to win the first two games in sudden death, they defeated the Rangers in five to win their second Cup. In the second overtime of Game 5, Martinez was the hero by scoring on a rebound past Henrik Lundqvist. Similar to Games 1 and 2, it took another Kings comeback to win it. Gaborik tied the score on the power play in the third. He had two clutch goals that tied games the Kings eventually won. The Kings’ play in the third period and overtime was the difference in the series.

Quick outplayed Lundqvist to win his second Cup by finishing with 1.63 GAA and .932 save percentage and a shutout. Lundqvist posted a 2.47 GAA and .923 save percentage.

Following 2013-14, the Kings weren’t the same. They only made the postseason three more times with Quick, and never advanced out of the first round. In fact, since Quick was unceremoniously dumped to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Mar. 1, 2023, LA hasn’t had another series win since their last championship. After asking out of Columbus, Quick had the last laugh when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, who won the Cup that year.

After signing with the Rangers that off-season, Quick was the perfect backup behind Igor Shesterkin. In 2023-24, he won 18 games with a 2.62 GAA, .911 save percentage, and two shutouts. He spent his last three seasons on Broadway. He went 35-30-6 with a 2.99 GAA, .899 save percentage, and seven shutouts as a Ranger.

Now, Quick will work for the Rangers in a role he should know well.

Brassard Returns to Organization as Player Development assistant

In another move to help improve the Rangers organization, another popular former player was brought back. Derick Brassard was hired as a player development assistant. He’ll report directly to player development boss Tanner Glass, who was promoted earlier in the off-season when Jed Ortmeyer departed the organization.

Over a decade ago, Brassard came over from the Blue Jackets in a trade for Gaborik. For three years, he produced consistently for the Rangers. During the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Big Game Brass delivered by scoring six goals and adding six assists for a dozen points. It was the cohesive trio of Brassard, Pouliot, and Zuccarello that were instrumental to the team’s success.

In 2014-15, he continued to play the best hockey of his career. That included posting a career-high 60 points, including 19 goals and 41 helpers during the regular season. Buoyed by leading scorer Rick Nash’s team best 42 goals, the Rangers clinched the league’s best record to win the Presidents’ Trophy.

After coming back to beat the Washington Capitals in thrilling fashion by overcoming a 3-1 series deficit on the strength of sudden death goals from Ryan McDonagh in Game 5 and Derek Stepan in Game 7, they lost a strange Eastern Conference Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven. In defeat, Brassard paced the Blueshirts in postseason scoring with nine goals and 16 points. That included a hat trick and five points in Game 6 at Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, the Rangers were shut out 2-0 by Ben Bishop in Game 7 back in New York.

Following 2015-16, Brassard was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Mika Zibanejad, who has since gone on to become one of the Rangers’ best players this century. In fact, the 10-year anniversary of the move just passed last Saturday on July 18. It’s considered one of the best deals in recent history by the franchise.

Although he never duplicated his success in Manhattan, Brassard had a successful 16-year career that included eclipsing 1,000 games and totaling 215 goals with 330 assists for 545 points. After concluding his career in Ottawa for a second stint, he retired.

Three years later, he’ll be assisting Glass and Quick in player development.