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For a while now, Cal Petersen has been viewed as the successor to Jonathan Quick as the team’s starting goalie for the future.
Petersen was a regular member of the roster during the 2020-21 season and he took over most of the workload from Quick. He posted a solid .911 save percentage with the Kings compared to Quick’s .898 save percentage while playing 35 of the team’s 56 games, a pace of over 50 games in a full-length season.
He was subsequently signed to a three-year contract in September, which carries a $5 million cap hit and kicks in for the start of next season.
So heading into this season, Petersen was expected to take most of the workload in net for Los Angeles once again. Things didn’t necessarily go to plan though, with Petersen stumbling a bit and Quick starting to take back a lot of games early on. By the end of the season, Petersen had posted just an .895 save percentage and Quick was counted on in goal during the team’s first round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.
The somewhat unexpected turn of events could lead to the question of whether Petersen will be capable as the team’s long-term starter.
Petersen’s stats throughout his time in the NHL were consistently good (despite a minimal sample size) up until the start of this year. He posted a .916 save percentage through 54 career games and so it’s possible to count this year as a one off.
That said, there’s a lot of emphasis on Petersen needing to bounce back in a big way next season. Quick has a year left on his contract and given the Kings are in an alright spot cap-wise, they can continue to pay both goalies as much as they are for another year. It’s very likely we see the duo used in a tandem once again but Petersen has to be able to rebound and start taking back the net.
If Petersen puts together a strong year, I don’t think there are any concerns about his future, at least as a 1A goalie who could lead a tandem and play up to around 45-50 games per year. If Petersen stumbles next year though and Quick is still outplaying him by the end of his contract, there will be a lot more questions.
Petersen will be paid like a starter and especially as the Kings look to really start competing in the Western Conference, he'll need to bounce back to prove capable of the job.
QuizMaker
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Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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