St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Pheonix Copley to One-Year, Two-Way Deal
The Blues now have a full stable of goaltending depth for the 2016-17 season.
Just hours after announcing that they’d re-signed goalie Jordan Binnington to a one-year, two-way deal on Friday, the St. Louis Blues announced that they’ve also re-signed netminder Pheonix Copley to a one-year, two-way contract.
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Copley was a restricted free agent this offseason. With Copley back in the fold, it appears that he and Binnington will comprise the goaltending duo for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, in 2016-17, though newly-signed Finnish prospect Ville Husso will also be a factor, whether he spends his first season in North America getting regular playing time with an ECHL club or becoming part of a three-way rotation with Copley and Binnington.
The 24-year-old Copley, who was acquired by the Blues from the Washington Capitals in the T.J. Oshie/Troy Brouwer trade last July, made his NHL debut last February, appearing in a singular game with the Blues. Though Copley spent a good chunk of time with the NHL club after the new year, coming up to fill in as both Brian Elliott and Jake Allen dealt with injuries, he spent most of his 2015-16 campaign with the Wolves, posting a 15-16-3 record with a 2.79 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, and three shutouts. While relieving Allen against Nashville in his NHL debut on February 27, Copley stopped five of the six shots that he faced in 24:26 of action.
Next: Blues Re-Sign Jaden Schwartz to Five-Year Deal
It will be interesting to see who the Blues’ third-stringer ends up being in the event of a goaltending injury in 2016-17. Binnington and Copley have appeared to be pretty much neck-and-neck since Copley arrived, and Husso may have the greatest upside of the trio. With Binnington and Copley both signed to one-year deals, Husso in the fold for the next three years, and junior prospect Luke Opilka possibly in line to move up to the AHL for the 2017-18 season, this coming season will definitely be important as it pertains to Binnington and Copley’s respective NHL futures.