“Although our intellect always longs for clarity and
certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz
Last Season: 15-17-6, 2.91, .896, 2 shutouts with Hershey Bears
Well, consider us fascinated at the prospect of Pheonix
Copley sliding into the backup goaltender role for the Washington Capitals in
2017-2018. Fans of the Caps have been
spoiled over the last three seasons, what with the club employing two – and only
two – goaltenders in specific, well-defined roles. Braden Holtby was the number one netminder,
and Philipp Grubauer was the backup (except for the first two games of the 2018
postseason). The Caps are the only team
over the past three seasons to employ only two goaltenders in the regular
season. More than half of the teams in
the league dressed six or more (16 teams), and both the Arizona Coyotes and
Calgary Flames dressed ten over that period.
We are past that.
Grubauer is in Colorado fighting for a number one spot of his own, and
Copley, who has two games of NHL experience (both with the St. Louis Blues), is
getting his shot at a permanent subordinate role in Washington. He has come quite far since, as an undrafted
free agent out of Michigan Tech University, he signed with the Caps in March
2014. And while he has only those two
games of experience with the Blues after the Caps traded him there with Troy
Brouwer and a draft pick in July 2015 for T.J. Oshie, he has a reasonably good
AHL record (73-48-12, 2.55, .913, with nine shutouts in 145 games over four
seasons with the Hershey Bears and Chicago Wolves).
Odd Copley Fact…
Copley is first and only, to date, goaltender born in Alaska
to play in the NHL. Copley was born
North Pole, AK. Ty Conklin, who played
in 215 NHL games with six teams, was raised in Anchorage, AK, but was born in
Phoenix, AZ.
Fearless’ Take…
Everyone has to start somewhere, and it is hardly unheard of
for a rookie goaltender to get 15 or more starts. As a group, rookies starting at least 15 games since 2005-2006 have a GAA of
2.59 and a save percentage of .913, although the range for both statistics is
quite significant.
Cheerless’ Take…
Here is an ominous thought (did I use that word right,
cuz?). The last time that the Caps had a
backup goalie at any point in their season with as few games of experience as Pheonix
Copley has was in 2013-2014, when Grubauer dressed for 17 games after coming
into the season with only two games of experience in the NHL. And Grubauer wasn’t the backup to start the
season. Michal Neuvirth was, but he was
later traded to Buffalo for Jaroslav Halak, who pushed Grubauer off the depth
chart. Grubauer played only one game in
the NHL after January 19th that season and lost his last five
decisions (0-3-2) after January 9th. It makes one wonder if the Caps are going to
go a fourth straight season using only two goaltenders.
Potential Milestones…
- First NHL win (he is 0-1-0 in two appearances)
The Big Question… Is
Pheonix Copley the answer to the backup goaltending situation?
Given the outsized role Philipp Grubauer played last season
as a nominal backup – 15-10-3, 2.35, .923, with three shutouts in 35
appearances, many of which took place during Braden Holtby’s curious
late-season slump – there will be considerable attention paid to how Copley
fares coming out of the box as the new backup.
His ability to fill the role with some measure of effectiveness might be
the biggest issue that the Caps have as the season gets underway. And while his AHL numbers at Hershey over
three seasons (43-26-14, 2.52, .913, with 5 shutouts) are not stunningly, jump
off the page good, Braden Holtby was better, but not overwhelmingly so over
four seasons in Hershey (74-45-7, 2.37, .918, with 14 shutouts).
It is hard coming into an established roster, and it is
harder still to do so when that roster is coming off a Stanley Cup win. Add to that the reputation Philipp Grubauer
took with him to Colorado as perhaps the best backup goaltender in the league
over the last three seasons, and Copley has a challenge in front of him. And that is quite enough of a challenge for a
goalie with only two games of NHL experience on his resume. If for whatever reason the Caps need a number
one goalie for any length of time, one would have to think that Copley becomes
the third option, behind giving prospect Ilya Samsonov a shot and going out
into the trade/free agent market for a solution.
In the end…
The flip side of coming into a settled roster situation,
except for the spot you are filling, is that everyone knows his role and has
been successful in it. The new guy needs
to tend only to his business without the distractions of an unsettled roster in
front of him. And, with the Caps, having
a number one goaltender as solid as Braden Holtby provides a certain level of
expectations. While Holtby did
appear in only 54 games last season – a career low since he became the Caps’
full-time number one netminder – one would expect he would return to appearing
in 60-65 games, at a minimum, in 2017-2018.
The Caps’ situation is about as good as it gets for a young
goaltender trying to establish himself as a bona fide NHL netminder, even if it
is in a relief role. Pheonix Copley has
served enough of an apprenticeship to earn himself a shot a fulfilling that relief
role. But nothing is certain in that
regard, and it is the most fascinating question as the Caps begin their Cup
defense. Can Copley succeed in a limited
role?
Projection: 20 games, 10-7-1, 2.66, .912
