Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is scheduled to be back in mid-February if all goes well in his recovery, Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi said Wednesday.
Lombardi told the Los Angeles Times earlier on Wednesday that Quick would return in March. But when reached by ESPN, Lombardi said he had misspoken to some degree.
"Nothing has changed. You're looking at mid-February in all likelihood. That hasn't changed. Best-case scenario is early February," Lombardi told ESPN, though he added a worst-case scenario could push it to late February or early March.
Quick suffered a lower-body injury in the season-opening win against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 12. Lombardi previously told ESPN the injury was something the goalie had first tweaked in the World Cup of Hockey in September.
Quick had a nonsurgical procedure on Oct. 19 to address the issue.
Veteran backup Peter Budaj has filled in during Quick's absence but Lombardi confirmed the team continues to look at trade options for a goalie.
"Yeah, we're constantly looking at it," Lombardi said. "Clearly when you lose your No. 1 goalie, you've got a hole. But the reality is, you've got two issues: first, what's out there [on the trade market]. Two, a lot of our players haven't been at the top of their game and we're still in it.
"So we got to focus on that and not allow what happened in Montreal," Lombardi said, referring to last season when Carey Price's injury derailed the Canadiens' season.
"But we have a lot of guys that would freely admit they haven't been on the top of their game. And it's easy to just point at losing a goalie that may cover up a lot for you. But the reality is, we need to focus on [playing better] as much as looking outside the organization right now."
