While the Los Angeles Kings may not have as many pressing questions at goalie this offseason, there are still some changes that are expected to take place. Most notable is the expectation that Erik Portillo will step in as the backup to Darcy Kuemper on the Kings roster.
That is a role that David Rittich filled this past season, but after he struggled down the stretch, and is an unrestricted free agent this summer, it makes sense for them to get younger and look at one of their top prospects.
However, going this route, the Kings do lose a lot of experience, and having a veteran goalie on the roster would be a smart move. The team appears to have done that on Monday by announcing they have re-signed Pheonix Copley to a one-year deal with an AAV of $750,000.
Pheonix Copley is the right veteran goalie for the Los Angeles Kings to add
Pheonix Copley may not have many NHL games; in fact, he has only 77 games in seven years, but has played a lot in the AHL with 279 career games. That includes 42 this past season with the Ontario Reign, and he went 24-17-3 with a goals against average of 2.49 and a save percentage of .904.
He is a goalie who has been with the franchise now since the 2021-22 season and should give competition to Erik Portillo during training camp to make sure the young goalie earns that backup spot. However, if he does end up winning the job, it should be a bigger concern.
The best-case scenario for Copley would be him being the primary starter for the Ontario Reign this season. They don't have many options outside of Copley and will sign another goalie at some point before the season, but most likely a player on an AHL contract.