2024 Kings Seasons In Review – Goaltenders

Starting the seasons in review series with the goaltenders.

Looking at the group as a whole, goaltending was arguably the biggest win for the Kings over 82 games. I think that if you look back into the preseason, goaltending was among the biggest question marks for the Kings. How would Cam Talbot bounce back from a difficult season in Ottawa. How would Pheonix Copley follow-up his breakout 2022-23 campaign with the Kings. How would David Rittich factor in, signing as competition for the aforementioned tandem.

The answers to the question marks seemed to be generally answered over the course of 82 games, even if playoff performance didn’t match what we saw in the regular season. A look at the three men to tend the crease for the Kings this season.

David Rittich
NHL Statline, Regular Season – 24 games played, 1,365 minutes played, 13-6-3 record, 2.15 goals against average, .921 save percentage
NHL Statline, Playoffs – 2 games played, 117 minutes played, 0-2-0 record, 2.56 goals against average, .872 save percentage
AHL Statline – 16 games played, 914 minutes played, 7-6-3 record, 2.63 goals against average, .901 save percentage

Rittich came to the Kings over the summer in a different role than he’s had in previous seasons. He signed as the organization’s third goaltender, after playing as an NHL backup over the past five seasons in full. Rittich started out in Ontario and was solid behind a young Reign club in the early stages of the season. Rittich provided a veteran complement to Erik Portillo and having him on hand became almost essential once Pheonix Copley suffered a season-ending ACL injury, though in an LA Kings capacity.

To be honest, I’m not sure that the Kings make the playoffs without some of the performances that Rittich delivered. He won a lot of the games he was supposed to win early in his time with the Kings but he also backstopped several key victories coming out of the NHL All-Star break, coming against higher-caliber opposition. There weren’t many nights, even in losses, when you looked at the performance of Rittich and thought he was the problem for the Kings. He gave the team a chance to win most nights and that’s all you can ask of a goaltender in that situation.

In 24 appearances, Rittich posted 11 goals saved above average, per Natural Stat Trick. That total was good for 15th in the NHL among all goaltenders and when you break it down to a per/60 basis, he actually placed fourth among goaltenders with at least 20 starts. Additionally, the Czechia native ranked sixth in high-danger save percentage. If you listen to Henrik Lundqvist on the TNT panel, that’s a valuable statistic, showing that Rittich was among the league’s best when facing shots from those more dangerous areas of the ice. Naturally, a 20-game sample size is exactly that but both the eye test and the numbers for Rittich seemed to check out. The dude delivered in the situations he was expected to.

I don’t think there are really a ton of negatives from Rittich’s season. There’s a goal he’d have liked back in Game 5 of the Edmonton series, the game-opening goal, but large in part he was fine in the two games that he played. A solid season, with hopefully another one to come.

2024-25 Status – Rittich extended his contract last week on a one-year deal with the Kings to remain with the club for the 2024-25 season.

Rittich’s contract is a one-way deal, which implies he’ll be a part of the goaltending tandem with the Kings this coming season. It’s a well-deserved extension for Rittich, who came into the organization on a one-year deal as the third goaltender last summer. When he got his opportunity he made the most of it. At a cap hit of $1 million for 2024-25, Rittich earned himself a small raise after he outperformed the contract he signed last summer. Now, he’ll stick around for a full season and look to build upon what was a very solid introduction to the Kings.

Cam Talbot
NHL Statline, Regular Season – 54 games played, 3,116 minutes played, 27-20-6 record, 2.48 goals-against average, .913 save percentage
NHL Statline, Playoffs – 3 games played, 181 minutes played, 1-2-0 record, 5.30 goals against average, .861 save percentage

Talbot signed with the Kings off a challenging season in Ottawa in 2022-23. It was his worst season in the NHL since 2019. For a $1 million contract, with the opportunity to double that number in bonuses, there wasn’t a ton of risk to bringing Talbot in. On July 1, he was arguably the best value option the Kings could have opted to sign. For that deal, Talbot delivered 54 appearances and a .913 save percentage – exactly his career average – along with a 2.48 goals-against average, his lowest mark since 2016-17.

Across the NHL, from a numbers standpoint, Talbot was among the league’s best this season. Talbot finished the season with 13.95 goals-saved-above average, the tenth best total in the league. His .913 save percentage ranked eighth among goaltenders with at least 40 games played and he was selected to represent the Kings at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto. In the first half of the season, Talbot found himself in the Vezina conversation and he rekindled that form in February and March to help guide the team into the postseason.

There was also that stretch, though. THAT stretch. Ten consecutive losses from late-December through the All-Star break. It essentially amounted to a month of Talbot’s season that brought his overall body of work from the top of the NHL to where he ultimately finished up. In that month, Talbot went 0-7-3 with a .881 save percentage and a 3.86 goals-against average. It coincided with the worst stretch of hockey of the Kings season, a stretch which ultimately resulted in the coaching change. It was a low point for many and Talbot was certainly not immune.

As it comes to the playoffs, I think that Talbot’s play was certainly not where he would have liked it to be, but he was also far from the only player who might say that from the five-game exit. At the end of the day, the Kings conceded 17 goals in Games 1-3 with Talbot in net. Wherever you want to put the blame, personally I think it’s spread around a number of areas, that’s not good enough. Talbot took his share of accountability for how things ended in the postseason. Goaltending in those three games was one of several areas of disappointment in that series, which prevented the desired ending to what was ultimately a pretty strong season from Talbot.

2024-25 Status – Talbot is an unrestricted free agent this summer for the second straight year. He signed a one-year contract with the Kings on July 1, cashing in fully on the bonuses in his deal as a 35+ contract, and will be a UFA again in a month and a half.

With Rittich signing a one-year extension last week, it creates a bit of uncertainty in Talbot’s situation. The Kings could opt to try and run it back in net, with a tandem that performed quite well during the regular season, ranking fourth in the NHL in save percentage. The Kings could also, however, look at acquiring more of a longer-term solution in net via the trade market. While Talbot had a strong year, he’ll be 37 come training camp and isn’t a long-term answer. He will certainly have a market in free agency, whether that be in Los Angeles or elsewhere, so we’ll see how his situation plays out.

Pheonix Copley
NHL Statline, Regular Season – 8 games played, 436 minutes played, 4-1-2 record, 3.16 goals-against average, .870 save percentage

Copley’s numbers are a near-perfect, though slightly exaggerated, embodiment of his time here.

In the eight games he started this season, the Kings picked up at least a point in seven of them. In total over the last two seasons, Copley posted a record of 28-7-5. The dude simply won hockey games. His goaltending splits were certainly a step back from last season but he also played in just eight games, which leads to more numbers that don’t really amount to all that much. His numbers in 2022-23 were probably a truer reflection of the goaltender he is, with a save percentage in the low .900’s, consistently doing enough to give the Kings a chance to win games, even if not a guy who steals a ton of games.

The injury Copley suffered was brutal luck. It happened during a practice at Toyota Sports Performance Center, on a simple shootout drill the Kings have run countless times. The result was a season-ending injury that cost Copley the final four months of his 2023-24 campaign. A difficult way for Copley’s season to end, just as he finally inked the contract that cemented him as an NHL’er.

2024-25 Status – Like Talbot, Copley is an unrestricted free agent this summer, coming off the one-year extension he signed with the Kings for the 2023-24 season. As a UFA, coming off ACL surgery, Copley’s in a tough spot. He’s expected to make a full recovery, which is terrific, but also hasn’t played since December, which makes health a factor into a team signing him to be in their NHL tandem.

For Copley, here’s to hoping that first and foremost, he’s healthy and ready to go come September. Knowing him, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t ahead of schedule throughout the entire recovery time. He’ll get a contract this summer, assuming he is healthy, it’s just a matter of where. Should it be with the Kings, even with an eye on perhaps starting in the AHL, he’s a known commodity who has been a good fit here. He’ll be that wherever he ultimately winds up.

Working on partial seasons and AHL/NHL splits for later in the week and a full complement over the next month or so, before the draft and free agency. Also hoping to do an Insider Q&A at some point as we transition into the offseason. More to follow!