SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jonathan Quick says Monday night's game was his last in the NHL, meaning the 40-year-old is retiring to end a career that spanned nearly two decades and included a stretch in which he was one of the best goaltenders of his generation.
Quick and the New York Rangers lost to the Florida Panthers, 3-2.
“Team played great,” Quick said. "I wished I'd had a couple more saves for them. ... But it was still special, to see the way these guys played. It's an honor to play my last game with this group here."
Quick announced earlier in the day that Monday would be his finale, and that when the news got out the text messages and well-wishes began pouring in. The day became a trip down memory lane, Quick said, and the Rangers all took the ice for warmups wearing jerseys with his name and number 32 on the back.
“That was cool,” Quick said. “That was special from those guys.”
The game at Florida was his 921st appearance, counting playoffs.
“He earned the respect of his teammates, coaches and staff members through his work ethic and dedication to his craft,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in a statement posted on social media. “Jonathan is a special person and player, and the entire Rangers organization wishes him — along with his wife, Jackie, and three children, Madison, Carter and Cash — all the best in retirement.”
Quick backstopped the Los Angeles Kings to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and ’14 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the first of those two title runs.
The Milford, Connecticut, native was the U.S. starter at the 2014 Olympics and has a Cup ring from 2023 as a backup for the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas beat Florida in that series in 2023, and Quick shared a handshake with Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky when that matchup was over.
Bobrovsky — who led Florida to the Cup in 2024 and 2025 — made sure there was one last handshake line for Quick on Monday night, leading the Panthers over to the Rangers' side of the ice. Quick had already gone down the tunnel after the final buzzer, and Bobrovsky asked some of the Rangers to send word that Florida was waiting to give him an appropriate sendoff.
So, Quick returned and Bobrovsky was the first to embrace him and share a few congratulatory words.
“The guys came in and reminded me to get out there,” Quick said.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Florida didn't want to pay any homage to Quick during the game, so as not to disrupt the goalie's typical routines.
“Sergei had the lead there. He has a better understanding and respect for what Jonathan Quick has done in his career," Maurice said. “Both of them have got a couple of rings. They both get it. I think that’s just wonderful when the players respect the players the way we do.”
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New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) protects the net from Detroit Red Wings center Emmitt Finnie (58) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) stops the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against Detroit Red Wings, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, hoping to finally elect a parliament able to resolve the longtime political impasse that has gripped this Balkan country.
The snap vote follows the resignation of a conservative-led government amid nationwide protests last December that drew hundreds of thousands, mainly young people, to the streets. The protesters called for an independent judiciary to tackle widespread corruption.
Since 2021, the nation of 6.5 million has struggled with fragmented parliaments that produced weak governments, none of which managed to survive more than a year before being brought down by street protests or backroom deals in parliament.
The revolving door of governments has fostered widespread public mistrust, voter apathy and a shrinking turnout in elections.
Still, Sunday’s vote is significant as it could bring to power a left-leaning, pro-Russian former president — just days after Hungarian voters rejected the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement of Viktor Orbán, who cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The front-runner, Bulgaria’s former President Rumen Radev, is leading a newly formed, center-left Progressive Bulgaria coalition. He resigned from the mostly ceremonial presidency in January, a few months before the end of his second term, to launch a bid to lead the government as prime minister.
The 62-year-old former fighter pilot and air force commander is seen as Bulgaria’s most popular politician and has promised to give the nation a fresh start. His supporters are split on those hoping he will put an end to the country’s oligarchic corruption and those lining up behind his Eurosceptic and pro-Russian views.
After voting on Sunday, Radev said that Bulgaria now has a historic chance to change the alleged oligarchic model of governance. He urged people to go to the polls because mass “voting is the only way to drown vote-buying in a sea of free votes.”
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., and are to close at 8 p.m., after which initial exit polls will be announced. Preliminary results are expected on Monday.
Bulgaria is a European Union and NATO member country, joined the eurozone on Jan. 1, shortly after entering the border-free Schengen travel area. However, it has been plagued by political instability since 2021, when three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigned following massive protests fueled by anger over widespread corruption and injustice.
Radev has cast himself as an opponent of the country’s entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians. At campaign rallies he vowed to “remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power.”
And though Radev has officially denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has repeatedly opposed military aid to Kyiv and has favored reopening talks with Russia as a way out of the conflict.
Opinion polls predict that Radev’s coalition could get more than 30% of the vote, putting him nearly 10% ahead of his closest rival — Borissov’s center-right GERB party. Most polls report margins of error from 3 to 3.5%.
Mario Bikarski, senior Eastern and Central Europe analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, also believes that Radev’s new coalition stands the best chance to lead a future government, with possibly “the best electoral result for a single party in nearly 10 years.”
Radev's relatively vague campaign has left him open for cooperation with almost any party in the future Parliament, Bikarski noted. He predicted that the vote share for euroskeptic and Russia-leaning parties also will to rise to the highest level in decades.
Radev, however, seems reluctant to enter a formal coalition with the hard right and openly pro-Russian Revival party, Bikarski added.
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A man casts his vote during an early election at a polling station in Sofia on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A man casts his ballot during an early election at a polling station in Sofia on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev casts his vote at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A supporter of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reacts during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Supporters of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev hold posters in the colors of the Bulgarian flag during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A print on the back of a jacket of a supporter depicts the former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is seen at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev delivers a speech at the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
