The Red Wings announced this morning that center Andrew Copp underwent surgery to repair his left pectoral tendon and will miss the remainder of the season. He’ll miss four to six months as a result, meaning he should be ready for training camp in the fall.
Copp landed on injured reserve yesterday and was replaced on the roster by veteran AHL call-up Sheldon Dries. The latter will serve as Detroit’s extra forward while Michael Rasmussen nurses an upper-body injury. At the same time, J.T. Compher will continue to see a bump in minutes centering Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, as he did in Sunday’s overtime win over the Ducks without Copp.
The loss of Copp is a significant but not season-ending blow for the Wings, who are currently in position to end their eight-season playoff drought. They aren’t carrying any other long-term injuries among their forward corps. While the 30-year-old has been a strong depth piece for Detroit, ranking sixth on the team in scoring with 10-13–23 through 56 games, he’s averaged under 15 minutes per game and won’t be overwhelmingly complicated to replace internally.
His unavailability likely shifts general manager Steve Yzerman’s trade deadline plans somewhat, though. Detroit probably won’t need to move Copp to long-term injured reserve ahead of March 7 – they can currently add up to $13.65MM in cap hits as things stand, per PuckPedia. But while acquiring a top-four defenseman was and likely still is Yzerman’s top priority, Copp’s absence does bump the acquisition of a rental center up his wish list. The only big-ticket option on the rental market is the Islanders’ Brock Nelson, but they won’t be moving him – especially to a conference rival – if they’re still in competition for one of the East wild-card spots in 10 days. Lesser rental options (and more suited for a middle-six role) include Chicago’s Ryan Donato, Montreal’s Jake Evans, Boston’s Trent Frederic, and Seattle’s Yanni Gourde. The most expensive among that group is Gourde, who costs a shade over $5.1MM, still leaving them with plenty of flexibility to add on defense.
Of course, Copp’s injury could also increase Yzerman’s urgency to add a younger center with term. It’s something he’s been weighing for most of the season, namely in connection to the Sabres’ Dylan Cozens. But Buffalo, looking to end their own playoff drought next season, likely won’t risk moving the high-ceiling pivot to a division rival.
Copp arrived in Detroit in the 2022 offseason, inking a five-year, $28.125MM contract in free agency. He’s in the third year of that deal, which carries a cap hit of $5.625MM. It’s largely been an overpay, as he’s produced much closer to his career-average 82-game pace of 13 goals and 35 points in Detroit than his platform year of 21 goals and 53 points between the Jets and Rangers. His ice time this season was its lowest in six years, although his possession metrics (46.7 CF%, -1.9 expected rating at even strength) responded well to the decrease in usage.
It’s actually a big blow for Detroit as Copp was playing well this year, especially when he centered Kane & DeBrincat. I wonder if this increases the likelihood of a trade for a forward ? Veleno and Motte arent going to cut it .
All the more reason to get a center like Cozens. A winger could do as well if they believe Kasper is ready to anchor the second line at center.
Kasper is ready!
I hope they do not go after a rental on the forward-side since it would mean picks or prospects. Not something I would want.
With Copp’s LTIR that gives the Wings over $16M to go shopping!
Would be nice. Yzerman, needs to add beyond a rental.
It sounds like Jonathan Toews might be a Red Wing soon.
That would be cool and everything but realistically what exactly do you expect out of 2025 Jonathan Toews? If they sign him for 950k that would be a good move.
I have zero expectations, It’s just a hot rumor today that seems to he picking up steam. The upside is that Its incredibly low risk.
I feel badly about this but both Veleno and Motte have fallen flat. Motte’s injuries have limited his GP, but looking at his overall NHL performance has not been great as noted by the $800k one year deal he got From Detroit. Must have been a “last call” drink at the bar. Veleno too is hit and miss but not consistent enough to be part of a playoff contender team. Lets hope for some playoff action this spring, and some real moves this summer to strengthen the core.
Does anyone know why the Wings traded Jake Walman for literally nothing?
He’s earned 34 points in 46 games with the Sharks and is a minus 1 rating.
That’s one point below Patrick Kane’s 35 points in 48 games played.
Was it a LaLonde pushed deal? What a mistake!! Both LaLonde and the Walman trade.
Wonder if he’d want to come back from the worst in NHL Sharks?
What can the Wings get for Motte, Veleno, and Tarasenko before the deadline or in the off season? In all likelihood, not much.