Martinez, Quick share unusual path to Stanley Cup with Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- Alec Martinez and Jonathan Quick enjoyed their third run to a Stanley Cup championship together in a way they had never experienced before.

"This one is a little different being on the other side of the age spectrum," Martinez said after scoring a goal in the Vegas Golden Knights' 9-3 Stanley Cup clinching win against the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday. "It's a little bit different and pretty awesome to see some of these young guys fulfil a childhood dream. It's a pretty special feeling."

Quick was 26 and Martinez 24 when they each won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012.

They were 28 and 26, respectively, when they each won it again with the Kings in 2014, Martinez scoring the Stanley Cup clinching goal in double overtime of Game 5 against the New York Rangers.

Martinez was in his second full season in 2012, just establishing himself as an NHL defenseman. Quick was a No. 1 goalie, one of the best in the world. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 as the most valuable player of the playoffs and probably could have in 2014 too, had it not been for forward Justin Williams and his 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) and Game 7 heroics throughout that postseason.

Now Quick is 37 and a backup who did not play one minute in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Martinez is 35 and was a top-pair regular with Alex Pietrangelo, averaging 19:29 of ice time per game in the playoffs, third on the Golden Knights.

Yet there they were together again in a Stanley Cup handoff procession Tuesday night, Martinez getting it from Pietrangelo, skating around with it, raising it high, and then handing it off to Quick so he could get his moment with the hardest trophy to win in sports.

"I think hockey is poetic sometimes," Martinez said. "Hockey is obviously just a game. There's a lot more important things and harder things that people go through in life, but we're humans too and certainly 'Quickie' is. The way things went down for him, it's poetic that he's here. Sure as [heck] never thought that I'd be passing the Stanley Cup to him, but I'm pretty happy that I did."

Martinez and Quick each got to Vegas via trades, albeit under far different circumstances.

The Golden Knights acquired Martinez from the Kings on Feb. 19, 2020, for second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 NHL Drafts. He had one year left on a six-year contract. Los Angeles was headed toward a rebuild; Vegas was trying to win the Stanley Cup.

"I thought when I got traded here I came to a good organization, a good team, the right guys and a chance to win," Martinez said. "It's a testament to them for putting the team together that they did. To get it done is pretty awesome."

The Golden Knights acquired Quick by way of the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 2. Unlike three years ago, when Martinez arrived with Vegas, Los Angeles was trying to contend and figured it would be better off without its two-time Cup-winning goalie who was struggling.

Quick was traded to Columbus with a conditional pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goalie Joonas Korpisalo on March 1, one day before the Blue Jackets flipped him to the Golden Knights for goalie Michael Hutchinson and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

"I knew coming in they were one of the top teams in the League," Quick said. "Every year since they've come into the League they contend for the Cup. That's exciting, stepping in and helping out a team that is already that caliber. It's just whether it's your year or not, if you catch the bounces or not. We earned it. We worked for it and it's fun that we get to enjoy it."

Martinez was a big part of that as one of Vegas' most important players. He scored his first goal of the playoffs in Game 2 against Florida and his second in Game 5. He played in all 22 playoff games and added five assists after he had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 77 regular-season games.

"That's something I've seen a lot of and I've been lucky enough to be on his team when he's doing that," Quick said of Martinez scoring big goals in big games. "I've known him a long time, known his family a long time. I know how great of a person he is and I'm just happy for him and his family."

Quick played 10 games with the Golden Knights after his arrival, going 5-2-2 with a 3.13 goals-against average, .901 save percentage and one shutout, when he made 33 saves in a 4-0 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on March 11.

But he did not dress in the playoffs until Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Edmonton Oilers, after Laurent Brossoit was injured in Game 3 and Adin Hill took over as the No. 1. Quick never got in a game, but was there for Hill every step of the way.

"Unbelievable," Hill said of Quick. "He's been here three times now and won it all three times. The experience he has, the veteran presence he brought to our locker room is invaluable. I talked to him all the time. He's one of the best guys I've met in the hockey world. I'm happy to share this moment with him."

This is the third time Quick and Martinez have shared this moment, but the first time they get to appreciate it in the way they do now.

"Different times, different teams," Martinez said. "You have a different approach. Having gone through it before you try to sit back and watch and notice the little things, whereas your first time you kind of just, for lack of a better phrase, you just want to blow it out. You want to do everything to the max and do it right because you never know if it's going to happen again.

"It's nice to have a little bit of experience and be able to sit back and watch, stop and look around and see some of these young guys, see what they accomplished, the milestone and a childhood memory fulfilled. It doesn't get much better than that."