TAMPA, Fla. — After grueling speculation of the playing condition of Andrei Andrei Vasilevskiy before the start of this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning recently picked up a goalie off waivers that will likely startle fans. Today, Oct. 2, the club claimed goaltender Pheonix Copley off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.

This acquisition comes after Vasilevskiy has yet to practice with the team during training camp and play at all for preseason, as he’s only been mildly training in low impact circumstances.

For the last few days, the Bolts have rocked the goaltending duo of Jonas Johansson and Brandon Halverson. Both of these netminders are not bad between the pipes; however, Halverson only has one NHL game experience for the team from last season, and put up a 5.88 goal-against average (GAA) and a .792 save-percentage (SV%) against the then Utah Hockey Club, (Tampa Bay Times, March 2025).

If the speculation is true of Vasilevskiy being unable to start in the regular season, then the team needs a reliable backup to cover for Johansson. Halverson simply isn’t it. The 29-year-old needs to develop his NHL craft without this kind of pressure. So, that’s where Copley comes in.

About Copley

Copley is not an unfamiliar name in the NHL: he was once the backup to Jonathan Quick for the Kings. However, the Quick ship sailed a long time ago, and since that time, Copley has spent the majority of his recent tenure in the minors of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Ontario Reign. From North Pole, Alaska, the 33-year-old tended in 42 games for the Reign during last season, picking up 24 wins and recording a 2.49 GAA and a .904 SV%.

Photo Credit: Russel Morgan

During that campaign, he was also called up by the Kings for a one-game appearance, where he was in net for just 27 minutes and recorded a 4.37 GAA and a .833 SV% from 12 shots. Before his slump, Copley had a 37-game season with 35 starts during the 2022-23 season for the Kings. In that full-time campaign, he racked up 24 wins and six losses, and recorded a 2.64 GAA and a .903 SV% from 947 saves.

Goaltending Core Contracts

Earlier this offseason, the 33-year-old made the decision to stay within the Kings organization for another year, when he inked a one-year extension worth an NHL-standard of $775k. The same principle applied to Johansson, when he signed a two-year extension with the Bolts worth $2.5 million.

Where This Is Heading

Now the question comes at a time when Vasilevskiy came off a 63-game start for last season: what does the acquisition of Copley truly mean for Vasilevskiy and how long will Copley stay in the Bay? Well, judging by the trust of Johansson from general manager Julien BruisBois, I don’t think Copley will stick around a long time if multi-time NHL All-Star Vasilevskiy will be healthy to play later into the season.

Furthermore, looking at the videos of him practicing with Johansson, I believe he’ll be back soon and that the Bolts are simply “renting” Copley for safe measures. As mentioned before, Halverson isn’t a reliable backup yet and the pressure of having to backup for the backup will only hurt his development; he has the strength and skills for the NHL soon, and the Lightning simply can’t interfere with that — that’s why they picked up Copley. Now, being a starter for the beginning of the season isn’t new for Johansson, as during the 2023-24 campaign, he started in net for the first two months with backup Matt Tomkins when Vasilevskiy was recovering from back surgery.

Halverson is expected to start in net for the Bolts tonight at home ice against the Florida Panthers for game six of the preseason. We will likely have more information about the status and continuity of the goaltending core within the next few days before the start of the regular season, which will be on Oct. 9.

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.