Kings re-sign goalie Pheonix Copley to 1-year deal

The Kings have re-signed goaltender Pheonix Copley to a one-year contract worth $775,000, per a news release from the team on Monday.

Copley, 33, spent last season with the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Ontario Reign, playing 42 regular-season games and a pair of playoff contests. He was effectively the parent club’s No. 3 goaltender. He served in an emergency capacity and made one relief appearance, with 2025 Vezina finalist Darcy Kuemper and pending unrestricted free agent David Rittich sitting ahead of him on the depth chart.

His 2023-24 season had seen him start the year with the Kings in a backup role behind then-starter Cam Talbot. But early-campaign underperformance slid Copley into the same role in which he entered the Kings organization a year earlier before he sustained a midseason knee injury that required reconstructive surgery and lengthy recovery time.

That 2022-23 campaign was where Copley established his value to the organization, rising from the ashes of what were essentially four full years in the minors with the Washington Capitals.

Amid a disastrous effort from Cal Petersen and a subpar one from an aging Jonathan Quick, Copley’s call-up calmed the storm in net with a sparkling 24-6-3 record. His performance stabilized the Kings and allowed them to make the postseason, by which time trade pickup Joonas Korpisalo supplanted Copley.

The North Pole, Alaska, native and Michigan Tech alumnus broke into the NHL with the St. Louis Blues before heading to Washington, where his 27 appearances in 2018-19 established a career high until 22-23, when Copley occupied the net 37 times for the Kings.

While the Kings have Erik Portillo, Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky in their goaltending pipeline, Copley and Kuemper are presently their only two netminders under contract with significant NHL experience.