"The Feeling in the Locker Room Should Be That This is a Springboard": Andrew Copp Reflects on Red Wings Evolution

Detroit forward Andrew Copp reflects on his team's evolution, his own evolving role within that bigger picture, and the Red Wings' path forward

For the 2023-24 Red Wings, the end of the regular season—the simultaneous joy of a miraculous comeback in Montreal set against the soon-arriving news from the out-of-town scoreboard that their playoff hopes would not be realized—was a painful one.  For Andrew Copp, that pain was more literal than for most.

Copp broke his cheekbone on a high stick against the Capitals a week before the season ended in Montreal.  He had surgery the next morning to repair the dent in his face, missed two games, then played two more with a full face shield to close out the year.  As he met with the press on locker clean-out day Thursday back at Little Caesars Arena, Copp wasn't interested in attracting sympathy—"Everyone's going through something."

He did, however, acknowledge that the sudden end to the season sent him reeling.  "It's your life. The season ended, and obviously everyone was planning on making playoffs," Copp said.  "You're walking out of the rink in Montreal like 'Who am I? What do I do tomorrow? What do I do in two days?' You're so wrapped up in this."

'23-24 represented the second season of a five-year, $28.125 million contract Copp signed in July 2022.  When he signed that deal, Copp was coming off a career-best offensive season, putting up 21 goals and 32 assists in 72 games (56 of them with Winnipeg, 16 with the Rangers after being traded to New York at the deadline).  He hasn't replicated that production in Detroit.  Last year in 82 games, he scored nine times and gave 33 assists for 42 points.  This season, he scored 13 times and assisted 20 for 33 points in 79 games.

Thursday, Copp contended that his season, at an individual level, included highs and lows, while attributing his relative dip in scoring to an evolution in what was asked of him.

"I think there was really good stretches and stretches where maybe I didn't love my game as much," the 29-year-old said.  "Role-wise, it kinda changed from last year being a little bit more offensive to this year, playing against the other team's top line, especially down the stretch here in a checking capacity, not a lot of power play.  

"I think every guy always wants to produce more.  I think obviously I can.  My focus, with the way that the lines and all the roles shook out, that was what they needed from me...I think there's more to my game offensively, but that wasn't really asked of me this year."

"I think [scoring is] just not your focus," he added, when asked how that shift toward a shutdown impacted his ability to score.  "Your focus is checking, and it's really hard to produce five-on-five in this league, and then power play is a huge part of producing.  It is what it is.  Whatever is best for the team to help them win."

"I think I've proven that I can be a top six offensive player," Copp said in response to a question about whether he could tap back into that more offensive version of his game.  "It wasn't what was asked of me, and I love going against the other team's top line.  I think that's really a strength.  If you were to look at the number one strength of my game, you would say hockey IQ and defending.  I do relish that role."

As Copp said of his own individual performance, Detroit's season was defined by the extreme polarity between the highs—9-2-2 in January—and the lows—3-9-2 in March.  To Copp, mentality played a key role in distinguishing between the team's best hockey and its worst. 

"Part of it is confidence and swagger," he said.  "I think during that January period we were walking into the games knowing we were gonna win.  We were playing a particular type of game that lends itself to that type of feeling.  Even in the six-game winning streak that we had after the break...it wasn't the same.  We were kinda getting by by scoring a ton.  Our conversion rate was insane.  We kinda got loose in our game, and right after that is when the skid hit."

Copp pointed to the Red Wings' February 29th loss at home to the Islanders as an inflection point in the team's season and ability to maintain that swagger.  "We lost to the Islanders, who played what the Islanders do," he reflected.  "And we were like, okay that's a little bit more playoff hockey.  Are we prepared for that?  And then we lost to Florida and we lost [Dylan Larkin].  We just kinda lost confidence in what we had done because we knew that six-game win streak right before that wasn't really a sustainable brand of hockey, and we were trying to get back to that January winning streak brand."

Of course Larkin's injury was the biggest factor in dooming Detroit's March, but Copp argued that the team needs to reach a place where a single absence—even if the unquestioned top player on the team is the absentee—cannot have such a profound impact.  "I don't think it's a secret he's our best player, but also in Winnipeg, Mark Scheifele was our best player, and we went 13-1-2 without him for a stretch," Copp said.  "We couldn't find our footing at the same time, and so that was kind of a perfect storm. He is massive to the lineup, but, with that said, we should be able to handle any one player loss and not lose seven in a row."

To Copp, the Red Wings played their best when, in the new year, they began to embrace a selfless style of hockey—embracing roles in a way that enabled them to win even if they didn't have their best performance on any given night.

"I think we got to a certain type of team game in that January...There was this certain brand that we were playing and a certain type of team game where you're not gonna have your A game every night, and you gotta find that B+ game," Copp said.  "We might not be snapping it around, we might not score on the power play, but you find a way to win 4-2 with an empty-netter.  Those types of games where we don't make egregious mistakes, and the mindset is always the same.  You're not necessarily feeling it, but you're not really giving the other team a lot either.  That's how teams get to 110 points.  You're not gonna snap it around every night, so I think that's gonna be the biggest thing.  It's finding that B+ game."

Copp explained that rebuilding teams thrive on internal competition but that the point when that competition dissipates tends to bring out the best in the entire group.  "Come February, the internal competition is over. Everyone knows where they stand, and it's your job to take on roles, and now it's all about the team," he said.  "I think that's a part that I'm looking forward to next year. From the get go, I think we all know this is all about the team. And not to say that it's ever not, but there's always that internal competition—who's gonna go where, who's having what role—but down the stretch, you saw everyone bought into where they were at and what they were expected to do. That team game that I'm talking about is so valuable."

In that regard, playing meaningful games through the conclusion of the regular season proved beneficial, even if the outcome wasn't the one Detroit or Copp hoped for.  "Because you're playing such important games, you have to do what you're asked to do," he said.  "It becomes obvious where you are, and there's communication with the coaches and all that kinda stuff and what's expected of your line and everything like that. By 50 games in, you know how you're gonna get deployed too."

And Copp also sees a bright side in the Red Wings' disappointing end to the regular season: "In a certain way, for us to get seven out of the last eight points, it should be a confidence builder.  Obviously you wanna make the playoffs, but for the last whatever, three or four games, we kinda controlled what we could control, and hopefully that's kind of a springboard.  Let's say we went into a [playoff] series.  Let's say we lost in six games.  You lose the series, you lose the last game of the year, you're a little down, you made the playoffs, but you lost the last game of the year.  We're not gonna have that reality check, so we should kinda be—I don't wanna say flying high—but we should have a little bit of confidence going into the summer that we won big games down the stretch."

In other words, because it missed out on the postseason despite a late surge, Detroit won't have to endure the sting of what might have been a humbling playoff defeat.  Instead, the Red Wings have the unique opportunity to build on a season-ending win where the only sting came from external results.

"The feeling in the room should be that this is just a springboard," Copp said.  "I've seen a few things comparing it to the Lions team that won in Green Bay in the last game of the year [in the '22-23 season] and didn't make the playoffs, kinda hoping it's something similar."

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