Washington Capitals re-sign Pheonix Copley to three-year deal

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The Washington Capitals re-signed goaltender Pheonix Copley to a three-year, $3.3 million contract extension Monday, the team announced.

Copley's deal has an average annual value of $1.1 million. The backup goalie could have been an unrestricted free agent July 1.

"It means a lot obviously," Copley said. "It's a great organization and I'm excited to continue to have the opportunity to help the organization and do what I can to win games."

Copley is 10-5-3 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in 19 games (16 starts) this season as Braden Holtby's backup. He helped the Capitals register a point in seven straight starts (6-0-1) from Nov. 24 through Jan. 9, the longest run for any Washington goalie this year.

"We like the person, we like the work ethic, we like the progress he's made," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "He continues to improve, continues to work at his game. I think the goalie coach (Scott Murray) really likes him, thinks there's upside still, that he's going to continue to get better. We felt comfortable in committing to him."

The Capitals signed Copley as a free agent March 20, 2014, after spending two seasons in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Washington traded Copley to St. Louis on July 2, 2015, before re-acquiring him from the Blues in 2017.

Copley is 10-6-3 with a 3.08 goals-against average and .898 save percentage in 21 career NHL contests (17 starts).