Alex Ovechkin just welcomed former teammate and 2018 Stanley Cup champion, Pheonix Copley, to his exclusive list.
Taking a perfect setup from Rasmus Sandin, Ovechkin clapped a one-timer past Copley from his office.
We’ve been following ex-Caps goalie Pheonix Copley‘s unlikely rise from the ashes for some time now. Last summer, Copley was signed to be the backup-to-the-backup by the Los Angeles Kings, but he’s become the team’s best backstop of late.
The Kings evidently like what they see. On Friday night, they announced they’ve signed Copley to a one-year contract extension worth $1.5 million.
By Peter Hassett 8 months ago
Pheonix Copley played his last game as a Washington Capital almost one year ago, a loss to Columbus Blue Jackets in which Copley allowed four goals on 19 shots. Copley’s contract expired that summer as part of the Caps’ total goalie overhaul, and for a while Copley seemed like an afterthought in the upheaval. He signed a one-year deal with the Kings near league minimum and started the season as the third man down in Los Angeles’ goalie depth chart.
Now, Copley has the third best win-loss ratio in the league — behind only Boston’s Linus Ullmark and Carolina’s Antti Raanta.
By Peter Hassett 8 months ago
Several former Washington Capitals players have seen their careers revitalized outside of DC this season. Daniel Sprong, Jonas Siegenthaler, Ilya Samsonov, and Vitek Vanecek are all having strong seasons with their new teams.
Another player who was seemingly left for dead was goaltender Pheonix Copley. Copley, 30, went from being a backup goaltender in the AHL to now high-fiving movie stars in the NHL.
Copley has won 12 of his 14 starts for the Kings during the 2022-23 season. After his latest victory, a 4-3 W over the San Jose Sharks, Copley skated over to the glass and high-fived Will Ferrell.
By Ian Oland 9 months ago
The Washington Capitals announced Sunday morning that goaltenders Vitek Vanecek and Pheonix Copley have been re-assigned to the Hershey Bears.
The team made sure to note that Vanecek is only headed to the AHL for a conditioning loan and The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell believes it is likely he will start for the Bears in their game Sunday against the Utica Comets.
By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago
The Washington Capitals took their morning skate Tuesday before a Metropolitan Division matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets at Capital One Arena.
Pheonix Copley was the first goaltender off of the ice and will make his first NHL start for the Capitals since April 6, 2019. Copley will get the start over Ilya Samsonov.
By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago
The Washington Capitals have brought goaltender Pheonix Copley back to their roster from the Hershey Bears. Last Wednesday, Copley saw his first NHL action since the 2018-19 season when he relieved Ilya Samsonov against the Oilers and made 21 saves on 22 shots.
Vitek Vanecek remains on the roster for now but has not suited up since getting bowled over by Kasperi Kapanen in Pittsburgh and suffering an upper-body injury almost a week ago.
By Ian Oland and Chris Cerullo 2 years ago
The Washington Capitals sent goaltender Pheonix Copley and defenseman Lucas Johansen back down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Thursday.
The moves come as the NHL will disband its taxi squads league-wide after the NHL All-Star Break.
The Washington Capitals made two roster moves ahead of the Edmonton Oilers game after learning their captain, Alex Ovechkin, was entering COVID-19 protocol.
Forward Brett Leason will jump up from the taxi squad to the main roster to replace Ovechkin while goaltender Pheonix Copley will head to the main roster with Vitek Vanecek’s upper-body injury appearing likely to hold him out of appearing in tonight’s Edmonton Oilers game.
The Washington Capitals’ got incredible goaltending in their 4-3 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but not from their initial starter. Vitek Vanecek left the game early in the first period with an upper-body injury after being slammed into by Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen in the crease.
Ilya Samsonov replaced Vanecek in net and made 43 saves on 45 shots to pick up the victory. Taxi squad goaltender Hunter Shepard served as Sammy’s backup in an emergency.
Wednesday, the Capitals play their second game in consecutive nights as they take on the Edmonton Oilers at home and they have a big decision to make in net. If Vanecek remains injured and cannot play or serve as a backup, do they start Samsonov, who had a heavy workload against the Pens, or turn elsewhere?
