Former Kings and Ducks close to hoisting Stanley Cup

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Jonathan Quick speaks to a referee.

Sports Columnist

June 13, 2023 5 AM PT

LAS VEGAS —

Golden Knights goaltender Jonathan Quick has experienced the delicious, fluttery anticipation of Stanley Cup Eve twice before.

As the most valuable player in the Kings’ 2012 sprint through the playoffs and again in a gritty 2014 run, he had to live shot by shot, not daring to look ahead while friends, family and fans were planning celebrations.

Quick is playing a different role in a different uniform these days, and the Kings moved on to a different era when they traded him in March. But Quick, who has been the backup to Adin Hill throughout the Cup Final, sees some of the same key traits in his new team that he saw with the triumphant Kings: a strength not only of muscle but also character.

That’s a big reason the Golden Knights will have their names etched on the Cup for the first time in the franchise’s six-season history if they defeat the Florida Panthers on Tuesday before what’s sure to be a rollicking, rocking, Elvis-studded crowd at T-Mobile Arena. A sixth game, if necessary, would be played Friday in Florida.

“There is a bit of a slow build. I wouldn’t say pressure, but expectations on yourself and on your team, it does build up over the course of the playoffs,” Quick said Monday of being tantalizingly close to hoisting the Cup. “But at the same time, it’s something that we had in L.A. and I believe is here — and that’s a tremendous leadership group that kind of steers the ship when those moments arise.

“It is a very, very calming influence throughout the locker room, and especially just like when we were able to win 16 games then, and what we’re trying to do now.”

Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez played in front of Quick and scored the double-overtime goal that clinched the Cup for the Kings in 2014. The Golden Knights have three other Cup champions on their roster: Phil Kessel, who won with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017; Chandler Stephenson, who contributed to Washington’s triumph over Vegas in 2018; and Alex Pietrangelo, who won with St. Louis in 2019.

Martinez, who was traded by the Kings to Vegas in 2020 for two second-round draft picks, is hoping those pressure-tested players can dictate a calm tone Tuesday.

The Panthers have two Cup winners on their roster: Eric Staal, who won with Carolina in 2006, and Carter Verhaeghe, a champion with Tampa Bay in 2020.

“Obviously, experience helps, regardless of the situation, whether it’s the Stanley Cup Final or any other aspect of life,” Martinez said. “I think that having a few guys, or more than a few guys that have been here before, that certainly helps.”

The Kings’ playoff journey this year was over before it could get rolling, halted in six games by the Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks never got to the gate, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Which makes it odd that both teams are well represented in this Cup Final.

The Golden Knights rely on former Ducks defenseman Shea Theodore, who has averaged 20 minutes’ ice time per game during the playoffs. The Ducks, in a bind while composing their protected list for the expansion draft that stocked Vegas’ roster because several of their players had no-trade or no-move clauses that required them to be protected, traded Theodore to Vegas in return for the Golden Knights’ promise they wouldn’t claim Josh Manson or Sami Vatanen. Manson and Vatanen are long gone. Theodore has thrived.

“It’s been nice to have a home here, have an organization that believes in me and believes in our group, and it’s just been a lot of fun,” Theodore said.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers.

The Ducks also are represented by forward William Karlsson, who has blossomed since he began his career in Anaheim and has scored 11 goals during these playoffs.

Former King Brayden McNabb has become an impressive shot-blocker and physical force for the Golden Knights, who chose him in the expansion draft. His Kings career “feels like a lifetime ago,” he said, but he has fond memories. “It’s weird. You get traded and you’re so close with a group, then you have new best friends,” he said. “That was a pretty special group. It was a fun group and I’m lucky I was able to be a part of it.

“This group here has been amazing. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve had good groups in the past, but this group has created a bond that’s pretty special. It would be fun to finish it off and have a trophy.”

Vegas’ Kings alumni chapter also includes former Kings Michael Amadio and Ben Hutton, former Kings coach John Stevens as an assistant to coach Bruce Cassidy, and director of goaltending Sean Burke, who finished his career with the Kings in 2007.

The Panthers have several faces familiar to Southern California hockey fans. Former Duck Brandon Montour leads them with an average of 27 minutes of ice time and has made big contributions offensively, but the talented defenseman didn’t participate in what Florida coach Paul Maurice termed an optional practice Monday. Maurice declined to provide information on Montour, Matthew Tkachuk or Radko Gudas, who also were absent. Tkachuk, the Panthers’ leading scorer, missed chunks of the second and third periods of Game 4 because of an apparent injury.

Florida’s coaching staff includes assistant coach Jamie Kompon, whose name is on the Cup as an assistant to Darryl Sutter with the Kings in 2012, and its defense corps includes Josh Mahura, who was put on waivers by the Ducks in October but has won a regular job with Florida.

Mahura, of course, hopes the Panthers can rally against Vegas, as they did in erasing a 3-1 deficit against top-seeded Boston in the first round. “We still feel good. We believe in ourselves,” Mahura said.

“We’ve been doing that for a while now. Every guy knows every guy beside him is battling and we’re going to put our best effort forward [Tuesday] and see where it falls.”

True to form, Quick wouldn’t take the bait when asked about being so close to becoming a three-time Cup champion. “We only have 15 wins right now and it takes 16,” he said.

As he and Martinez well know. And the Ducks and Kings will have to relearn someday.