With practice wrapping up on Friday morning, Pheonix Copley stayed on the ice to stop pucks for his LA Kings teammates like usual. As he went down to make a save, a scream was heard from the North Pole, Alaska native. He immediately threw his glove and bent over in pain.
Players and training staff came over to assist Copley and practically carried him off the ice. An unfortunate scene for a player who’s done so much for this team since his Kings debut on December 6 of last year.
Sunday morning the Kings placed Pheonix Copley on long-term injured reserve. While there’s been no announcement of his specific injury or timetable for his return, don’t expect to see Copley on the ice anytime soon.
Shortly after Friday’s practice, LA recalled David Rittich from the AHL to serve as the team’s backup. In 16 games with the Ontario Reign, Rittich posted a 2.63 GAA and a .901 Sv% for a 7-6-3 record. He’ll be the backup for the foreseeable future.
Erik Portillo, who moves up to be goalie number three, is in his first professional season of hockey in the AHL. While he’s been performing well (2.15 GAA, .924 Sv%, 8-1-0), it would be asking a lot for him to get any games with the Kings.
Early Monday morning, Kevin Weekes reported that Kings general manager Rob Blake is in search of another goaltender. With limited cap space, don’t expect any high-profile netminders to come up in their search.
Some current free agents include Jean-Francois Berube, Brian Elliott, and Jaroslav Halak. Or if they went the trade route maybe goalies like Troy Grosenick or Keith Kinkaid. Either way, the Kings must protect current starting goaltender Cam Talbot at all costs.
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