What Andrew Copp's injury could mean for Red Wings as trade deadline approaches

As the Red Wings returned from the 4 Nations break last week, the NHL's looming March 7 trade deadline was beginning to look like a secondary consideration.
Detroit looked a little thin on the blue line, especially after Jeff Petry's injury, but sitting in an Eastern Conference wild-card spot, the Red Wings' most likely approach at the deadline was a mild one — much like last season.
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And it may still be. But one major wrinkle came to light Tuesday when the Red Wings announced second-line center Andrew Copp would be out for the rest of the season after undergoing successful surgery on his left pectoral tendon.
Copp has been one of the players to benefit most from the midseason coaching change, moving up the lineup and seeing his underlying numbers improve markedly since Todd McLellan took over. He looked like a great fit alongside Alex DeBrincat and either Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko, whether it was doing the dirty work in both zones or using his vision to help set up those key scorers.
The Red Wings are left to move forward without him, trying to snap an eight-year playoff drought.
The question now is: Will that harsh reality alter Detroit's approach before next Friday?
Let's start with the Red Wings' options before a trade.
Their easiest — and perhaps best — option is the one they chose Tuesday, bumping J.T. Compher up into the second-line center spot between Kane and DeBrincat. Compher's production has dipped a bit this season, but his profile is quite similar to Copp's as a hard-nosed, responsible center who can play in the hard areas of the ice and provide complementary offense.
In fact, Compher was Detroit's second-line center over Copp for much of last season, playing just over 300 minutes with Kane and nearly 400 with DeBrincat. Like Copp, Compher won't usually put up gaudy point totals or flashy offense, but what he does well certainly fits between two more offensively-tilted wingers. There's a reason Detroit went with him as its first option Tuesday, and if we're handicapping the possible outcomes for replacing Copp, this is the likeliest possibility by a wide margin.
Once Michael Rasmussen returns from an upper-body injury (McLellan said he was day to day), that would slot Rasmussen in as the No. 3 center and Joe Veleno as the No. 4 — with both Tyler Motte and Christian Fischer able to play that position on a checking line as well.
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One other option could be playing Marco Kasper as either the second- or third-line center — which Detroit did earlier this season — but I wouldn't call it likely at this time. Kasper has worked well playing on the wing on Detroit's top line, with his speed and forechecking fitting in nicely alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
In the long term, Kasper still projects as a center for the Red Wings. But the rookie has 16 points in 18 games since January 10, and it doesn't sound like McLellan is too eager to shake up something that's working.
'We'd like to keep him there (with Larkin and Raymond),' McLellan said.
Once Rasmussen is back, a center lineup of Larkin, Compher, Rasmussen and Veleno should mean the Red Wings don't need to get desperate to make a move.
But it also doesn't leave much margin for any further injuries. And if the Red Wings are concerned by that — or simply want to upgrade as they try to get back into the playoffs — then there are other options out there.
One of the biggest problems with trying to replace Copp via trade is that the center market is mainly divided into two kinds of players: potential upgrades that would cost considerable assets to acquire, and players who may not improve the Red Wings much.
Brock Nelson is the top name on the market, but as a rental likely to cost at least a first-round pick, he's not a fit for the Red Wings at this time. Ryan O'Reilly has term — but that might not be an asset in this case, possibly upping the cost to acquire him. His pedigree is unquestioned, but he's 34 with two more years remaining after this season, while the Red Wings still have both Copp and Compher under contract.
Meanwhile, Dylan Cozens is young and has shown 30-goal ability already in his young career, but his last two seasons have seen his production dip — a bit of a concern early in a long-term contract, and for a player Buffalo certainly isn't going to give away for cheap.
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There are other names in the rental center category, such as Yanni Gourde — who general manager Steve Yzerman has plenty of familiarity with — but there it becomes a question of cost and impact. Gourde could be a slight upgrade on the third line, allowing Rasmussen to flex back to the wing, but is that worth what the price will be for a player with his Stanley Cup pedigree? Jake Evans, likewise, would be a nice third-line center with some secondary offense, but again it's a question of how much Detroit (still on the playoff bubble) would be willing to give up to add him.
The Red Wings could also explore upgrading elsewhere at forward. Boston's Trent Frederic isn't a true center, but he is a big body who could add toughness and some scoring to the Red Wings' bottom six. Frederic should be a coveted player, though, and seems more likely to end up with an all-in contender as a result.
Detroit could also leave the forward group alone and look for help on the blue line — which is likewise manageable in its current form, but has little margin for injury and could certainly stand to be upgraded.
A sturdy defender may ultimately be the most logical move, whether it's someone like Vancouver's Carson Soucy, Seattle's Jamie Oleksiak or Chicago's Connor Murphy. The Red Wings still aren't really in a position to trade their first-round pick unless it's for a younger player who will be around a long time, but they have an extra third-round pick from the Olli Määttä deal and a good collection of prospects from which they can deal.
Last year in a similar situation, Yzerman mostly stood pat, trading away depth forward Klim Kostin only to see Detroit come within a tiebreaker of the playoffs.
But with how his team has responded under McLellan, reviving their season since the new coach came in after Christmas, does Yzerman decide to take a different course this time around?
We'll find out over the next 10 days.

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