Time To Perform Wellness Checks On Kings Fans After Jackets Flip Jonathan Quick To Golden Knights

It's been an eventful couple of days for former Columbus Blue Jackets legend Jonathan Quick.

Just one day later, Quick is on his way to Sin City instead.

It was something of a shock. Quick is a bonafide Kings legend and his No. 32 will someday hang in the Crypto.Com Arena (or whatever it's called down the line). He helped the team win their only Stanley Cups in franchise history, one in 2012 and another in 2014.

However, things are different now.

He has not played well this season. He's 11-13 this season with a 3.50 GAA and a .876 save percentage. The 37-year-old is not in peak form and was being outplayed by Phoenix Copley.

So, with the Kings looking to add some depth to their blue line, they looked to cut a deal with the Blue Jackets. They wanted a defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo. A good way to do this was to ship Columbus Quick's heavy cap hit and a pair of draft picks.

Kings fans were bumming hard after the trade. Quick reportedly was too.

Now, they'll really be upset with the news that Quick has been flipped to the Kings' division rivals, the Vegas Golden Knights.

Although, Quick might think this is pretty cool...

It's been a wild couple of days for Jonathan Quick and Los Angeles Kings fans. (Photo by Josh Lobel/NHLI via Getty Images)

A Quick Change Of Events

While Kings fans were still trying to work out which way was up after the team dealt its most important goaltender in franchise history, they'll have more they'll need to come to terms with.

On Wednesday, Quick was on his way to a basement-dwelling team very much in the conversation to nab the first-overall pick and Connor Bedard. That's an easier pill to swallow than what the Jackets had in store for them on Thursday.

Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen woke up and chose violence. Kings fans were still trying to superglue their hearts back together, and they were just shattered a second time in about 36 hours.

Seriously, if you know any Kings fans. Give them a call. See how they're doing. Maybe take them to lunch.

Now, instead of being on an also-ran in the opposite conference, one of the most beloved players in Kings history is headed to a team just two points ahead of them in the same division.

Again, check on them. It's a tough time for them.

Shoutout to the folks on the Columbus Blue Jackets social media team for throwing together a phenomenal graphic on short notice.

The dejected Justin Braun seems unnecessary, although I know as well as anyone that there are many pictures like that to pick from.

Quick won't be off the Jackets' books though. They're going to retain 50% of his salary.

The Golden Knights always find a way to work around that pesky salary cap.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle