Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Assign Erik Portillo To Minors
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 Activate Darcy Kuemper, Reassign Pheonix Copley
Netminder Darcy Kuemper‘s time on the injured reserve is ending. The Los Angeles Kings announced they’ve activated Kuemper off injured reserve and reassigned goaltender Pheonix Copley in a corresponding roster move. This move puts Kuemper in line to make the start tonight as the Kings take on their rivals, the San Jose Sharks.
Kuemper’s been on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered during a difficult start against the Ottawa Senators on October 14th. His first two starts back with the Kings organization were exceptional with Kuemper 56 of 59 shots against the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins to the tune of a .949 save percentage. Kuemper more than doubled his goals against in the contest against Ottawa allowing eight goals on 41 shots in an overtime loss.
The team’s goaltending has been a mixed bag since Kuemper went on the injured reserve. The combination of David Rittich and Copley allowed 14 goals in four games but 12 of those goals came in two separate games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights. Kuemper, assuming he’s fully healthy, should put Los Angeles in a better position to improve upon their modest 3-2-2 start to the regular season.
Copley didn’t garner any starts for Los Angeles during his emergency recall but filled in for Rittich during the team’s loss to the Maple Leafs on October 16th. He managed to stop 10 out of 12 shots in 27:29 of ice time for a .833 save percentage and 4.37 goals against average. He’ll now return to the crease for the AHL’s Ontario Reign where the team has averaged four goals against per game using three netminders.
Kings Announce Multiple Roster Moves
The Kings have made several roster moves in advance of their game tomorrow against Anaheim. The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been placed on injured reserve, netminder Pheonix Copley has once again been recalled from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis, and defenseman Joel Edmundson has been reinstated to the active roster.
Kuemper is in his first season with Los Angeles after being acquired over the offseason in exchange for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. He got off to a solid start in his first two outings, allowing just three goals on 59 shots. However, he struggled mightily in his third outing this week against Ottawa with eight shots beating him in an overtime loss. Since then, he has been listed as out with a lower-body injury. The Kings can back-date the placement to October 15th, meaning Kuemper will be eligible to return early next week.
As for Copley, he returns to the active roster after being papered back to the Reign earlier today. He made one appearance in his first stint, coming in relief earlier this week against Toronto, allowing two goals on a dozen shots. The 32-year-old has 77 career NHL appearances under his belt and will continue to serve as David Rittich’s backup until Kuemper is able to return.
Edmundson, meanwhile, had been away from the Kings for the past few days following the birth of his child. The 31-year-old is in his first season with Los Angeles after inking a four-year, $15.4MM contract with them back in July. He has played in three games with them so far, recording an assist and eight blocked shots in a little over 21 minutes a night. With his return, the team is now back to carrying eight healthy blueliners.
Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Place Joel Edmundson On Non-Roster List
Saturday: Copley has been returned to Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log, suggesting that Kuemper has been cleared to return.
Wednesday: The Kings have recalled netminder Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions, per a team announcement. Starter Darcy Kuemper is out with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, adds Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been granted personal leave and moved to the non-roster list, giving the Kings the open spot on the 23-man roster necessary to add Copley.
It’s a tough break for the 34-year-old Kuemper, who’s just beginning his second stint with the Kings after he was acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason. The veteran has played all three games to start the season for Los Angeles and looked strong early on, stopping 56 of 59 shots faced (.949 SV%) through his first two contests. Things came crashing down in a wild game against the Senators on Monday, though, allowing eight goals on 41 shots en route to an overtime loss, bringing his SV% on the year down to .890.
It doesn’t appear he’ll miss too much time, though. He could have been placed on IR to accommodate Copley’s recall but wasn’t, indicating there’s a chance he’ll return within the next seven days. However, he could still land there if Edmundson returns to the team before Kuemper’s ready to play, Bernstein said. Edmundson, 31, has been away from the team since yesterday while awaiting the birth of his child.
The Kings will now turn to David Rittich to make his first appearance of the season tonight against the Maple Leafs after he posted a career-high .921 SV% and 11.0 GSAA in just 24 appearances for Los Angeles last year. Copley, who missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery, will back up. The 32-year-old allowed three goals on 22 shots in his lone AHL showing this season against the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, his first appearance in over 10 months. The Alaska native struggled with a .870 SV% and 3.16 GAA in eight showings for Los Angeles last season, firmly slipping to No. 3 on their goalie depth chart behind Rittich.
Waiver Wire: 10/6/24
Today is the major day for the waiver wire as most teams in the NHL are preparing the 23-man rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that all players on waivers from yesterday have cleared. The following list is each player placed on waivers this afternoon as reported by PuckPedia.
Boston Bruins
F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel
Buffalo Sabres
D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek
Calgary Flames
G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt
Carolina Hurricanes
F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively
Edmonton Oilers
D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue
Los Angeles Kings
G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White
New York Islanders
D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama
St. Louis Blues
D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen
Toronto Maple Leafs
G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai
Utah Hockey Club
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Kings Sign Warren Foegele, Re-Sign Copley, Lewis; Sign Five Others
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports the Los Angeles Kings have agreed to a contract with free agent forward Warren Foegele. It’s a three-year deal in the $3.5MM AAV range, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger. They’re also bringing back depth goalie Pheonix Copley and fourth-line forward Trevor Lewis, per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. The team also announced the signings of forward Jeff Malott (one-way in 2024-25, two-way in 2025-26) and Glenn Gawdin on two-year contracts plus centers Tyler Madden and Jack Studnicka along with defenseman Reilly Walsh on one-year, two-way agreements.
Foegele is the headline addition out of the group. He’s coming off a career year with Edmonton, one that saw him post 20 goals and 21 assists in 82 regular season games despite averaging less than 14 minutes a night of ice time. However, he wasn’t quite as productive in the playoffs, being held to three goals and five assists in 22 contests.
Still, it’s a nice raise for the 28-year-old who recently wrapped up a three-year deal that carried a cap hit of $2.75MM. He’ll likely take the place of Viktor Arvidsson on Los Angeles’ roster; coincidentally, Arvidsson signed a two-year agreement with the Oilers today to replace Foegele. His role will likely be the same with the Kings, splitting time between the second and third lines.
As for Copley, he received a one-year, $825K agreement. The 32-year-old North Pole native was a feel-good story in 2022-23, coming up from the AHL to eventually post a 2.64 GAA with a .903 SV% in 37 games, earning him a one-year, $1.5MM deal for last season. However, Copley struggled in his eight appearances before tearing his ACL, ending his campaign in December. He’ll have a chance to battle David Rittich for the backup job with the other netminder heading for AHL Ontario.
Lewis, meanwhile, signed for $800K, a small raise after making the league minimum. The 37-year-old played in all 82 games last season, picking up eight goals and eight assists on the fourth line while playing a regular role on the penalty kill. He’s likely to reprise that role for 2024-25 which will be his 17th NHL campaign.
Malott has been a productive AHL scorer for the last three seasons, helping him secure a one-way year on this contract. He played exclusively with AHL Manitoba in 2023-24, notching 22 goals and 30 assists; it was the third straight campaign of 20-plus goals at that level. Despite that, he has just one career game of NHL experience. Even with the change in organization, the 27-year-old will likely have to start with the Reign and try to earn a recall from there.
Gawdin has a bit more NHL experience, seeing action in each of the last four years, spanning 13 games in total. He’s coming off a career year with AHL San Diego, one that saw him notch 22 goals and 33 assists in 70 games. The 27-year-old will be counted on to play a prominent role with the Reign next season.
Madden, meanwhile, is someone more familiar with the organization having spent the last four seasons with them, all with the Reign. He was non-tendered on Sunday to avoid giving him arbitration rights but quickly struck an agreement to return. The 24-year-old had 15 goals and 19 assists last season and should remain a regular in Ontario’s lineup.
Studnicka is the most experienced of their AHL-bound signings. He played in 22 NHL games last season but was limited to just one goal, eventually resulting in his clearing waivers. He was more productive in the minors, collecting 21 points in 36 games between AHL Abbotsford and San Jose. The 25-year-old has 107 career NHL games under his belt where he has six goals and ten assists.
As for Walsh, he has been a productive defenseman at the AHL level with a pair of 40-plus-point showings. Last season, he played in Boston’s system with Providence, collecting nine goals and 18 assists in 60 games. The 25-year-old became a Group Six free agent and should play a big role on Ontario’s back end next season.
Pheonix Copley Out For The Season
The Kings have been without backup goaltender Pheonix Copley for nearly a month now and they won’t be getting him back this season. John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor was the first to report that the netminder has undergone successful ACL surgery which will keep him out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. The team has subsequently confirmed the news.
The North Pole native was a major bright spot for Los Angeles last season, coming up from the minors to pick up 24 victories in just 37 games played, helping to stabilize what had been an uncertain goaltending situation until Joonas Korpisalo was acquired at the trade deadline. That helped earn Copley a one-year, $1.5MM contract extension last February.
But things hadn’t gone as well for the 31-year-old this year. Before being injured, Copley struggled in his first eight starts of the season, posting a 3.16 GAA with a .870 SV%, leading to some speculation that they could once again look to the trade market as they did a year ago to try to shore up their second-string option behind Cam Talbot.
For the time being, veteran David Rittich will serve as Talbot’s backup with Aaron Dell joining their farm team in Ontario to back-fill that spot. But with Copley’s contract now destined to remain on LTIR, they may be able to use some of that money to try to acquire an upgrade on Rittich in the second half of the season. Failing that, they may at least be able to keep an extra player or two on the active roster once winger Viktor Arvidsson can return from his back injury which has had him on LTIR for the entire season so far.
Los Angeles Kings Send Down Moverare, Place Copley On LTIR
Without much clarification as to the nature of the injury, reports emerged two days ago that goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings, Pheonix Copley left the team’s practice and had to be helped off the ice. Today, the Kings announced that they have placed Copley on the long-term injured reserve, and also loaned defenseman Jacob Moverare to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
Joining forward Viktor Arvidsson on the LTIR, the team will now have a touch over $2.5MM in current cap space, allowing them to comfortably carry David Rittich as the backup goaltender for the foreseeable future. After giving Los Angeles some much-needed stability in the net last season, the Kings rewarded Copley’s efforts with a one-year, $1.5MM extension for this year.
Largely serving as the team’s starting goaltender for much of last season, Copley had returned to the backup role this year, after being handily outplayed by free-agent acquisition, Cam Talbot. In eight starts this year, Copley carries a 4-1-2 record, coupled with a .870 SV% and a 3.16 GAA.
Comparatively, in somewhat of a night-and-day difference, Talbot leads the organization with 19 starts on the season, holding a 13-5-2 record, and impressively maintaining a .926 SV% and 2.02 GAA. With adequate depth in the crease throughout the entirety of the organization, the Kings should be able to weather the storm without Copley for the foreseeable future.
Also a part of the transaction this evening, Moverare is in his third season of being a depth defenseman for Los Angeles, typically finding himself in the AHL with Ontario. Last season being his most successful in the minor leagues, Moverare played in a total of 62 games for the Reign, scoring four goals and 26 points overall.
Although being used as a primary candidate for paper transactions coming out of the Kings organization this season, this will be Moverare’s eighth promotion and demotion of the year. Throughout his lengthy list of callups, Moverare has only suited up in two games for Los Angeles, failing to score a point after averaging 14 and a half minutes of ice time per night.
Kings Place Vladislav Gavrikov On Injured Reserve, Recall David Rittich
The Los Angeles Kings have officially placed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on injured reserve, and have recalled goaltender David Rittich on an emergency basis. Given that players must be on the injured reserve for a minimum of seven days after placement, the timeline of Gavrikov’s return will not change much, given that it was reported he would be week-to-week.
As one of the more frustrating defenders to line up against in the NHL, the Kings will be hard-pressed to find an internal option to replace Gavrikov in their lineup adequately. Since the team is unwilling to carry more than three right-handed shot defensemen, they will likely fill in the hole with Jacob Moverare and Tobias Bjornfot.
Being the second-highest-paid defenseman on the team, Gavrikov ranks fourth amongst Los Angeles defensemen in average time on ice, scoring three goals and nine points in 25 games. On the defensive side of the puck, Gavrikov is fourth on the team in blocked shots and continues to post above-average possession numbers from the blue line.
In the case of Rittich, it was reported earlier this afternoon that regular backup goaltender Pheonix Copley was helped off the ice toward the end of today’s practice (X Link). Currently, there has been no update as to the status of Copley, although it is likely he will not suit up in the team’s game tomorrow night against the Seattle Kraken.
Although Rittich has operated as a backup goaltender for much of his career, this will be his first callup with the Kings since signing a one-year, $875K contract this past summer. In 16 games played for Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, Rittich holds a 7-6-3 record with a .901 SV% and a 2.63 GAA.
Los Angeles Kings Sign Jean-François Bérubé To PTO
CapFriendly is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings have signed goaltender Jean-François Bérubé to a professional tryout agreement. Bérubé will join netminders Pheonix Copley, Cam Talbot, and David Rittich in the collection of goalies who will vie for two NHL roster spots.
A native of Repentigny, Quebec, Bérubé spent last season with the Panthers’ organization playing for Charlotte in the AHL. While a member of the Checkers, Bérubé posted an .885 save percentage to go along with a 3.22 goals-against average in 19 appearances.
Bérubé was originally drafted into the NHL by the Kings back in 2009. The Kings selected the 32-year-old in the fourth round, 95th overall and he spent the first four professional seasons of his career with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL.
It wasn’t until the 2015-16 season with the New York Islanders that Bérubé made his NHL debut. This kickstarted a three-year run in which he bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL.
Bérubé’s last NHL appearances came with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2021-22 season, where he dressed in six games, going 3-2-0 with a 4.12 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage.
Given his career numbers, and where his game was last season in the AHL, it seems unlikely that Bérubé will crack the Kings lineup and earn an NHL contract. However, he should be able to snag an AHL contract and play professional hockey in North America this season.