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Kings sign goaltender Pheonix Copley to one-year, one-way contract extension (AAV: $775,000)

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The LA Kings have signed goaltender Pheonix Copley to a one-year contract extension.

The contract for Copley is a one-way deal that carries an AAV of $775,000 regardless of whether he is in the NHL or the AHL. As noted during the offseason overview article, I expected the Kings to sign at least one veteran goaltender this summer and more likely that number would be two. Copley represents the first of those signings and it’s an easy one. Copley has shown that he can be a serviceable goaltender at the NHL level and was more than that during the 2022-23 season. Last year, he was a very solid netminder at the AHL level with the Ontario Reign, taking on the bulk of the starts after Erik Portillo’s injury, helping steer the Ontario Reign towards a strong regular-season finish. An easy re-signing for another season for a guy who fills a role within the organization.

Instant Analysis
I don’t think you can ever have too much goaltending.

Pheonix Copley isn’t going to come into training camp and supplant Darcy Kuemper as the starting goaltender with the Kings. Could he possibly win the backup job, coming off a fully healthy season, with a fully healthy training camp? He could. Could he tandem with a younger goaltender like Erik Portillo in the AHL with the Ontario Reign? He could do that also. Copley has experience ranging anywhere from starting goaltender in the NHL to backup goaltender in the AHL. And everywhere in between. He’s an easy player to keep around for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, he has proven he can effortlessly slide up to the NHL and fill his role with the Kings, whatever that role might be. That might simply be a backup to an established starter and he’s the type of guy who can fit right in as he does so. He’s also shown he can come up and contribute. Where would the Kings have been during that 2022-23 season without the performances and reliability of Copley? He’s also a proven AHL goaltender, someone who played very well last season especially once Portillo went down with a back injury. Copley backstopped the Reign to home-ice advantage in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, one that was taken away really by building availability, and he certainly was not the problem as he posted a .920 save percentage in both postseason games.

Long story short, Copley is well-versed at filling several different roles with the Kings. He’s comfortable in playing in each of those roles and he’s a competitor who will come into training camp and push whoever is in front of him, around him or even behind him. He never really got that chance last fall, as he was recovering from ACL surgery. He’ll be raring and ready to go come September and you just can’t have enough goaltending. Easy lay-up signing for the Kings here this morning.

From the team’s official release –

Copley, 33, appeared in 42 games last season for the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, while establishing a 24-17-1 record with a .904 save percentage (SV%), 2.49 goals-against average (GAA) and two shutouts. Copley’s 42 games were an AHL career-best while 24 victories were the fourth-most among all league goaltenders and tied his single team career-best following his 24-6-3 campaign with the Kings in 2022-23. He played in two Calder Cup Playoff contests for the Reign and made one appearance for the Kings last season in relief.

The 6-4, 205-pound netminder made his Kings debut on Dec. 6, 2022, making 31 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Over the past three seasons, Copley has appeared in 46 games with the Kings, accumulating a 28-7-5 record with a .897 SV%, 2.75 GAA and two shutouts. His best individual NHL campaign came in 2022-23, his first season with the Kings, as he posted a 24-6-3 record with a 2.64 GAA, .903 SV% and one shutout. Prior to joining the Kings as a free agent in July 2022, Copley spent eight years with the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues organizations. He has appeared in 77 career regular season NHL games, owning a record of 44-16-8 with three shutouts, a 2.84 GAA and a .898 SV%.

A native of North Pole, Alaska, Copley is a veteran of 279 career AHL games with the Reign, Hershey Bears and Chicago Wolves, earning a 148-93-29 record with 17 shutouts, a 2.51 GAA and a .910 SV%. In 19 AHL postseason games, he has a 9-9-0 record with a 2.09 GAA and a .934 SV%. In 2020-21, Copley and the Bears were recognized with the Harry Holmes Memorial Award for the best goaltending duo in the AHL.

The undrafted netminder was signed by the Capitals as a free agent in 2014 after spending two seasons with the Michigan Tech Huskies (WCHA). Over 54 NCAA contests from 2012-14, Copley posted a 18-28-7 record with a .907 SV%, 2.82 GAA and four shutouts.

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