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Erik Portillo

Los Angeles Kings Acquire Pheonix Copley

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The Los Angeles Kings have brought in a familiar face to serve as the team’s third-string netminder. After losing him on the waiver wire a few weeks ago, the Kings announced they’ve traded for netminder Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations.

Further, despite recalling him on an emergency basis only a few hours ago, the Kings also shared that they’ve loaned Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Assuming he can make it to Los Angeles before tomorrow night, Copley is expected to serve as the Kings’ backup tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins behind Anton Forsberg.

The reasoning behind the trade is simple. The team’s Editorial Content Manager, Zach Dooley, reported earlier that Darcy Kuemper and Anže Kopitar are dealing with lower-body injuries. While Kopitar has been deemed ’questionable’, Kuemper has already been ruled out for tomorrow night’s contest.

Copley’s status as a veteran and familiarity with the organization likely played a big part in the Kings reacquiring him from the Lightning. Over the last three years, starting as a backup and transitioning to a third-string role, Copley had managed a 28-7-5 record for Los Angeles with a .897 SV% and 2.75 GAA. While playing for AHL Ontario last season, the 33-year-old netminder appeared in 42 contests, earning a 24-17-1 record with a .904 SV% and 2.49 GAA.

Although he was rostered on the Lightning to start the year, he had yet to appear in a game for them. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gotten off to a disappointing start to the campaign, but the team relied on Jonas Johansson as the next man up instead.

Snapshots: Luukkonen, Portillo, Paper Moves

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The Buffalo Sabres are once again uncertain about the short-term health of their starting goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The team pulled Luukkonen after just one period of action in Wednesday night’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff said that Luukkonen was still feeling some discomfort with the lower-body injury he recently returned from, per Michael Aguello of The Hockey News.

Luukkonen returned to Buffalo’s practices last week, after missing the start of training camp due to a late-summer injury. He described his injury as a, “flare up” and told reporters that he had no concerns with being ready for opening night. One week later, it appears Luukkonen is still in need of a bit more conditioning. He’ll be headed for a major workload when he does reach full health. Luukkonen played at least 50 games in each of the last two seasons. He’s posted a cumulative .899 save percentage in 109 games since taking the reigns as Buffalo’s starter. The goal will be to push that average above .900 with a return to the starter’s crease this season. First, he’ll need to ease himself back into the role. Should Luukkonen be unavailable for opening night, the Sabres will turn towards Alexandar Georgiev, who posted a .875 Sv% in 49 games last season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled goaltender Erik Protillo from the AHL. He will get a chance to continue his preseason action, after being assigned to the minors on Wednesday. Los Angeles also placed goaltender Pheonix Copley on waivers for the purposes of an AHL move, but the Tampa Bay Lightning submitted a claim to prevent that from happening. With Copley now out of the organization, Portillo is one of only fourt Kings goaltenders with an NHL contract, alongside the team’s top tandem of Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg – and top goalie prospect Carter George, who is on his entry-level contract. That standing will earn Portillo a bit more attention as Los Angeles’ training camp comes to a close. He hasn’t yet made his prseason debut, but posted . 966 Sv% in his NHL debut last season, and a .889 Sv% through 24 AHL games. Expect Portillo to get a hardier look in the Kings’ final preseason matchups, before vying for the Ontario Reign’s starting role out of the gates.
  • The Kings would have been unable to make the swap with Portillo that they did had it happened after next weekend. The NHL has altered their use of “Paper Loans” for this season, and will now require that players assigned to the AHL play in at least one game before being called back up, per PuckPedia. However, the league clarified to teams that the new rule won’t take effect until October 10th, which could allow teams the opportunity for some cap gymnastics at the start of the regular season. PuckPedia points out that, under this rule, teams could assign waiver-exempt players to the minors and submit an eligible opening night roster, then place injured players on in-season, long-term injured reserve, and recall their waiver-exempt players. An example could be the Edmonton Oilers assigning winger Isaac Howard to the minors, placing Zach Hyman on LTIR, and then recalling Howard before their first game on October 8th.

Los Angeles Makes Several Roster Moves

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The Los Angeles Kings will have a different lineup tonight when they take on the Dallas Stars. The Kings organization announced they’ve activated netminder Darcy Kuemper from the team’s injured reserve, placed veteran forward Trevor Lewis on the injured reserve, and loaned goaltender Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

It was a relatively long hiatus for Kuemper on Los Angeles’ injured reserve. This was the second time this season that Kuemper landed on injured reserve, the first being from October 14 to October 26. This most recent stretch cost Kuemper seven consecutive games with backup netminder David Rittich being handed the starting role. The veteran netminder has managed a 4-2-3 record in 10 starts for the Kings this season though many of his starting goaltender peers have already recorded 20 or more starts.

Given the organization’s proximity to the salary cap ceiling and without a real need to keep three goaltenders on the roster, it was always likely Portillo would head back to Ontario, CA. He still made his NHL debut on November 29th against the Anaheim Ducks, picking up his first win in a near-flawless effort. Still, he’ll find more consistent playing time with the Reign this year where he’s already managed a 4-2-0 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average.

Similarly to Kuemper, Lewis’ time on the Kings’ injured reserve won’t be brief. The lower-body injury is expected to shelf the veteran forward for the next four to six weeks which will prohibit him from playing in his 1,000th career game for a month or more.

Los Angeles has sufficient forward depth to replace Lewis down the middle on the fourth line. The team will likely deploy prospect Samuel Helenius there for the time being but could like to give those minutes to Arthur Kaliyev once he’s activated from the injured reserve himself.

Evening Notes: Smith, McLaughlin, Oesterle, Portillo

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The Carolina Hurricanes have brought defender Ty Smith back to the NHL roster per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He was assigned to the minor leagues in a corresponding move to their recall of goaltender Yaniv Perets, who filled in while Pyotr Kochetkov was day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Smith has been back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL rosters all season, though he hasn’t played an NHL game since 2022-23. His only ice time this year has come through four games with the Chicago Wolves. Smith has three points, all assists, in those outings. Smith has a defined history in North American pros, originally going 17th-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft after a strong WHL career and making his NHL debut in 2020-21. He recorded 23 points in 48 games as a rookie, but has since failed to follow-up – with just 47 games across 123 career games. He’s spent the last two years fully in the minors, recording 67 points across 102 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Smith will now return to a role as Carolina’s seventh defender, hoping to fight for ice time above Sean Walker or Shayne Gostisbehere.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Boston Bruins have assigned forward Marc McLaughlin and defenseman Jordan Oesterle to the minor leagues per the AHL transactions log. The move was first reported by Robert Chalmers of Cohen’s Hockey Media. It’s unclear if the move is a paper move – though Chalmers suggests it could be lasting. Neither McLaughlin or Oesterle suited up in Boston’s Wednesday win over the Islanders. In fact, McLaughlin has only stepped into one Bruins game this season – Boston’s loss to Vancouver on Tuesday. He didn’t record any scoring in that outing but did add one block and three hits in 9:36 of ice time. Oesterle has served a bit hardier of a role – albeit as an injury fill-in for Hampus Lindholm – stepping into three games but yet to find his first point of the year. Oesterle’s only stat changes come through three blocks, three hits, and a -2. Both players will return to the minors, where McLaughlin has scored 10 points in 15 games and Oesterle has eight points in nine games.
  • Top Los Angeles Kings goalie prospect Erik Portillo is expected to make his NHL debut on Friday shares team manager of editorial content Zach Dooley. Portillo will take on an Anaheim Ducks with a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games, though they’ve tied opponents in scoring 31-to-31. The Kings called Portillo up for the first full recall of his career on November 24th. He’s the only Ontario Reign goaltender with a save percentage above .900 – boasting a .906 through six AHL games this year. Portillo was more formally Ontario’s starter last year, recording 24 wins and a .918 through 39 games as an AHL rookie. He was a standout at the University of Michigan, accumulating a .918 save percentage over 87 games and three seasons with the Wolverines.

West Notes: Kaprizov, Sturm, Kings

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Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has reportedly not suffered a serious injury and will be evaluated over the next few days (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). The news comes after the 27-year-old sat out last night’s game against the Calgary Flames due to a lower-body injury. Kaprizov had an MRI that revealed no major issues, which is good news for a Wild team that have caught many by surprise this season.

Kaprizov appeared to be injured in Thursday’s game against the Oilers when he collided with Edmonton forward Drake Caggiula. He left the game briefly but did return to action and finished out the third period. Kaprizov has been dominant this season, registering 13 goals and 21 assists in 19 games thus far with a +16 plus/minus. The Wild currently sit in second place in the Central Division with a 13-3-4 record.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now is reporting that forward Nico Sturm has rejoined the San Jose Sharks as a regular participant in practice. Sturm was placed on injured reserve back on November 18th with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since November 14th against the New York Rangers. The 29-year-old played less than eight minutes a game in each of his last three appearances for the Sharks and has averaged a career-low 9:50 of ice time per game this season. Despite the nearly five-minute drop-in average ice time, as well as very difficult deployment, Sturm is having one of his finer offensive seasons with three goals and three assists in 18 games.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have reversed yesterday’s roster transaction as netminder Erik Portillo has been recalled from the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate the Ontario Reign while goaltender Pheonix Copley has been sent back down. The Kings made the opposite move yesterday, recalling Copley and demoting Portillo. Copley served as starter David Rittich’s backup yesterday against the Seattle Kraken while Portillo was rock solid for the Reign last night, stopping 33 of 34 shots to pick up the win after not playing for a week.

Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Assign Erik Portillo To Minors

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The Kings are swapping out backup goaltenders in advance of their afternoon game against Seattle today.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario.  In a corresponding move, Erik Portillo was re-assigned to the Reign.

Copley was the backup for Los Angeles at the start of last season, following an impressive 2022-23 performance that saw him record a 2.64 GAA and a .903 SV% in 37 games.  However, he struggled early on last year and then was injured, handing the number two job to David Rittich who secured the second-string role again in training camp in the fall.

The 32-year-old has made one appearance with the Kings this season, stopping 10 of 12 shots in a mid-October appearance.  But most of his playing time has come with the Reign where he has a 3.34 GAA and a .879 SV% in seven outings so far.  He’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and is on a one-way contract worth $825K.

As for Portillo, the 24-year-old received his first NHL recall a little over a week ago but didn’t see any game action with Rittich carrying the workload in Darcy Kuemper’s absence due to injury.  He has played in five games with Ontario so far, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .891 SV%.  Last season, Portillo put up a 2.50 GAA and a .918 SV% in 39 outings with the Reign, earning him a three-year, $2.35MM contract, the final two seasons of which will carry a one-way salary.  It’s not ideal to have a young goaltender sitting without any game action for an extended stretch so he’ll go back to Ontario and get a chance to see some regular action with them.

Kings Recall Erik Portillo, Jacob Moverare

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The Kings announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Erik Portillo and defenseman Jacob Moverare from AHL Ontario, with the former coming under emergency conditions. Defender Caleb Jones and Darcy Kuemper were placed on injured reserve in corresponding transactions to open roster space.

It’s the first NHL recall for the 24-year-old Portillo. Selected in the third round of the Sabres in the 2019 draft, the Sweden native was a star at the University of Michigan, where he compiled a .918 SV% in 87 games from the 2020-21 to 2022-23 seasons and won two Big 10 conference championships.

With Buffalo already having Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the goaltending pipeline, though, there wasn’t a real spot for Portillo in the Sabres organization when he was ready to turn pro. Near the end of his final season at Michigan, Buffalo dealt him to the Kings for a 2023 third-rounder that became defenseman Gavin McCarthy.

After Portillo’s season ended in late April 2023, he signed his entry-level contract with Los Angeles and reported to Ontario. That’s where he’s played all 44 games of his professional career, compiling a 2.56 GAA, .915 SV%, two shutouts, and a 27-13-3 record over the past two seasons. He also posted a 2.16 GAA, .916 SV%, one shutout, and a 5-3-0 record in eight Calder Cup Playoff games for Ontario earlier this year.

The Kings could also have opted to give veteran Pheonix Copley a summons while Kuemper is on the shelf. They’ve already done so this year, recalling him for a week in October while Kuemper was dealing with a lower-body injury. However, he surrendered two goals on 12 shots in his lone appearance, relieving David Rittich in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs back on Oct. 16. As such, they’ll give the younger Portillo a chance at some action as Rittich’s backup for the time being.

Moverare, 26, is in the first season of a two-year, one-way extension worth $1.55MM, which he signed back in March. The 2016 fourth-round pick lost a training camp battle for a roster spot to Jones, who inked a two-way deal in free agency over the summer. He cleared waivers at the beginning of October and headed to Ontario, where he has two assists and a team-leading +8 rating in 11 games.

In 45 NHL games over the past three seasons, the 6’3″ Moverare has shown he’s capable of being a no-fuss option in third-pairing minutes. He only has a goal and two assists to his name and has seen limited minutes, averaging 13:08 per game, but has a +2 rating and has controlled 51.5% of shot attempts when deployed at even strength.

As for Jones and Kuemper, it’s unclear when exactly they’ll be back in the lineup. They were both left Los Angeles’ last game, a 4-2 loss to the Avalanche on Wednesday, with injuries. The IR stint means they’ll miss at least seven days, meaning they won’t play Saturday against the Red Wings but are eligible to return on Wednesday next week against the Sabres.

Jones, 27, has spent most of this season in the press box. His appearance against Colorado was his first since Oct. 29 against the Sharks and ended a streak of seven straight healthy scratches. He’s averaged 12:49 per game when in the lineup and has a -2 rating through five games with four blocks and nine hits. He’s crushed his limited minutes against easy competition, though, posting a career-best 65.3% shot-attempt share at even strength.

For the 34-year-old Kuemper, it’s the second time he’s hit the shelf this season. That’s to be expected given his lengthy injury history, but the Saskatchewan native has been decent when healthy in his second stint with the Kings. Acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois over the summer, the 2022 Stanley Cup champion has a 4-2-3 record, .899 SV%, 2.65 GAA, one shutout, and a -0.3 GSAA in 10 starts.

Kings Re-Sign Erik Portillo To Three-Year Deal

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10:59 AM: PuckPedia reported the financial aspects of the three-year agreement between Portillo and the Kings organization. The team will pay their top goaltending prospect a salary of $775K in year one, with a minimum salary of $115K and a guaranteed salary of $175K for the two-way portion. He will once again earn $775K in year two as it transitions to a one-way pact before ultimately receiving $800K in the final year of the contract. Shortly thereafter, the signing was made official by a public announcement from the Kings.

10:00 AM: The Los Angeles Kings are expected to re-sign goaltending prospect Erik Portillo to a three-year deal today, as reported by John Hoven at Mayor’s Manor. Similar to other new contracts for restricted free-agent goaltenders this offseason, the first year of the deal is expected to be a two-way agreement before transitioning to a one-way deal in the second and third years of the contract.

After a dominant season with Frölunda HC J20 of the J20 SuperElit in Sweden, Portillo was drafted 67th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2019 NHL Draft. Portillo spent one year in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints before committing to the University of Michigan beginning in the 2020-21 NCAA season. The 2021-22 season was Portillo’s coming out party on the heels of high expectations for him and the Wolverines program.

He finished the season with a 31-10-1 record in 42 contests, a .926 save percentage, and a 2.14 goals-against average. By the end of the season, the Wolverines were the second-ranked team in the nation, headed into the Frozen Four tournament after sweeping the Big Ten tournament and Portillo being crowned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The team was one of the favorites heading into the postseason but was eliminated by the eventual champions, the Pioneers from the University of Denver, in the semifinals.

Instead of signing with the Sabres after his sophomore campaign, Portillo returned to Ann Arbor for his junior year. His numbers dipped slightly from the prior year, but Portillo still finished with 25 wins by the end of the season. By this time, Buffalo’s net was becoming more crowded with the signing of Devon Levi and the promotion of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. This led to Portillo announcing he would not sign with the Sabres and instead become a collegiate free agent when he could.

The Sabres appeased Portillo at the 2023 trade deadline by dealing his signing rights to Los Angeles in exchange for a third-round pick in 2023. A little over a month later, Portillo signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Kings organization, officially ending his tenure at the University of Michigan.

Last season became the first for Portillo in professional hockey as he spent the entire campaign with the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The young netminder elevated his status as a prospect with a 24-11-3 record in 39 games with a .918 SV% and 2.50 GAA. In the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Portillo backstopped the Reign to a Western Conference Division Finals finish for the first time in team history on the backs of a .916 SV% in eight games.

With Portillo’s contract becoming a one-way agreement after the 2024-25 NHL season, it is a commitment by Los Angeles that he can serve as the team’s backup once David Rittich’s one-year agreement runs its course. Portillo’s new contract will conclude simultaneously with the remaining years of Darcy Kuemper’s contract meaning the Kings could then keep Portillo around long-term if he proves successful at the NHL level.

West Notes: Ehlers, Portillo, Lerby

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With Olympic Qualifying Tournaments beginning at the end of the month, several teams will have decisions to make about allowing their players to participate in the event just before training camps get underway.  Jets head coach Scott Arniel told Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun that Nikolaj Ehlers will indeed suit up for Denmark in their tournament, noting their hope is that this will serve as a jumpstart heading into camp.  Ehlers has been frequently speculated as a possible trade candidate in recent months and he’s coming into the final season of his seven-year, $42MM contract signed back in 2017.  After putting up the second-highest point total of his career last season with 61, Ehlers will be looking for another big performance to bolster his value ahead of his first crack at unrestricted free agency.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Kings have two remaining restricted free agents in winger Arthur Kaliyev and goaltender Erik Portillo. Kaliyev is believed to be available on the trade market which could affect the timing of his next deal but Portillo is still in Los Angeles’ plans.  John Hoven of Mayors Manor recently examined some comparable netminders, suggesting that Portillo will likely ink a two-year deal around a $1MM AAV with the second season of that being a one-way agreement, similar to recent contracts given to Dustin Wolf (Calgary), Nico Daws (New Jersey), and Jet Greaves (Columbus) earlier this summer.  David Rittich and Pheonix Copley are on one-year deals so a good showing from Portillo with AHL Ontario in 2024-25 could put him in a good position to be Darcy Kuemper’s backup in 2025-26.
  • Flames RFA defenseman Carl-Johan Lerby is on the move in Sweden as Kalmar of the second-tier Allsvenskan announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year contract. The 27-year-old signed with Calgary as an undrafted free agent in 2019 but he spent limited time in North America, suiting up just 22 times with AHL Stockton before heading back overseas in 2021.  The Flames retained his rights by tendering a qualifying offer at that time.  Lerby split last season between the Finnish Liiga and the Allsvenskan, compiling 15 points in 45 regular season games between the two levels.

Kings Sign Erik Portillo To Entry-Level Deal

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After they acquired his rights from Buffalo, it was only a matter of time before the Kings signed prospect Erik Portillo.  That move has now come as the team announced that they’ve signed the goaltender to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal, which begins this season, carries an AAV of $875K.

Los Angeles acquired the 22-year-old from the Sabres in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick at the trade deadline after Portillo indicated to Buffalo that he wasn’t planning to sign with them.  He had a 25-11-2 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .908 SV% in 38 games with Michigan this season, helping to lead them to a spot in the Frozen Four.  Those numbers were actually a step back from his first two college campaigns as his time at that level concluded with a 2.49 GAA and a .918 SV% in 87 appearances over three seasons.

After Michigan was eliminated in the tournament earlier this month, he signed a tryout agreement with AHL Ontario.  However, he didn’t see any game action and the Reign were eliminated by Colorado in the first round last night.  In order for Portillo to be eligible to play in the playoffs, he needed to have his AHL tryout converted into an NHL deal which has now occurred.

Portillo is likely earmarked for the Reign again next season where it’s possible that he teams up with Cal Petersen if the Kings run him through waivers again.  If that happens, Ontario’s goalie tandem will be two players who were originally picked by Buffalo, went to college, and ultimately chose not to sign with the Sabres; Portillo was a 2019 third-rounder while Petersen was a 2013 fifth-round selection.

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