The Detroit Red Wings will be without one of their key depth forwards for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Today it was announced Andrew Copphad surgery to repair an injury to his left pectoral tendon. The timetable for his absence will be four to six months. With the Wings having been hot recently, it will be interesting to see what moves general manager Steve Yzerman has up his sleeves to potentially replace Copp in the lineup.
Detroit Red Wings Forward Andrew Copp Undergoes Surgery
Copp has established himself as a very dependable player in the league. Over the past number of seasons, three times he has been well above. The Ann Arbor, Michigan native has played for the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers and Red Wings over his 11-year NHL career. He has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 56 games this season. Copp has a Corsi for of 45.8 and a relative Corsi of -3.3.
The 30-year-old has 114 goals and 186 assists for 300 points in 700 career games. Winnipeg originally drafted him in the fourth round, 104th overall of the 2013 NHL Draft. Copp had a standout college career with his hometown University of Michigan.
He’s also represented his home country of the United States at the international level. However, he had a pair of fifth-place finishes at the 2014 World Juniors and 2017 IIHF World Championships.
What it Means
Copp is a veteran presence on the Red Wings roster. He may not have been putting up the goals, but he’s been good at the defensive end. The veteran is also a solid penalty-killer.
The move does free up some cap for the upcoming trade deadline. Yzerman may be able to go after another forward since he’ll have more cap room.
Detroit is hoping to get back into the post-season for the first time in a while. However, Copp won’t be along for the ride.
