NHL News: Jon Cooper, Lightning part ways with recent acquisition being bounced around with Kings

Jon Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning and the Los Angeles Kings have seemingly engaged in a game of hot potato. A handful of games into the 2025-26 NHL season, a recent addition to the Bolts is heading back to the Kings.

Phoenix Copley will surely hope he hasn’t lost the number of his real-estate agent in Los Angeles. After being claimed by Cooper and the Lightning off waivers prio to the start of the NHL season, the veteran goalie is headed back to the City of Angels.

“The Kings have acquired goaltender Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for future considerations,” as announced by @LAKingsPR on X (formerly Twitter).

Short-lived stay in Big Guava

While the 33-year-old netminder hoped a change of scenery might re-ignite his NHL career, it simply wasn’t meant to be in Tampa. With rumors of Andrei Vasilevskiy being injured, Copley’s chances to man the Bolts’ crease temporarily increased. However, with Vasilevskiy having played in three of Tampa’s four games, there is no spot for the waiver addition in the lineup.

Phoenix Copley playing for the Los Angeles Kings

Instead, the goaltender born and raised in North Pole, Alaska (not the actual North Pole, but a town roughly 1,700 miles from the top of the world) is headed back to Los Angeles. The odds of him serving an extended role like he did during the 2023-24 campaign—when he appeared in 37 games—are slim to none, however.

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Goaltending room in LA

With Copley’s return to the organization, the Kings now boast a goalie room filled with experience. Darcy Kuemper (35), Anton Forsberg (32), and Phoenix Copley (33) will be competing for ice-time, though the former is the clear-cut starter. Los Angeles boasts one of the oldest goaltending rooms in the NHL.

After trading for Copley, the Kings have assigned 25-year-old Erik Portillo to the AHL affiliate Ontario Reign. In addition to Portillo, the Kings have 19-year-old goalie George Carter, who is signed to his entry-level contract, in their ranks as well.