Monday was the last day of Andrew Copp’s stay with teammate Jacob Trouba.
Nearly a month after being traded to the Rangers from Winnipeg, Copp is finally getting his own place. The timing feels apt. The Jets are in town to play the Rangers on Tuesday, the first time Copp will face his old teammates. He’ll get dinner with a group of them Monday night, a nod to his old life before taking the next step in his new one.
Then on Tuesday, he’ll look across the ice during warm-ups at Madison Square Garden and see 20 familiar faces. He’s not sure how it’ll feel.
“I felt like I had a pretty good relationship with everyone in the room,” Copp said following Monday’s practice. “A lot of the group had been there a long time, pretty seamless fits. I would say you walk into the room, and you’re able to have a real conversation with everyone in the room and feel so comfortable after seven years. Not just the players, but the staff and the coaches and everything like that.”
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Copp had been with the Jets for the entirety of his career, after getting drafted out of Michigan. Having Trouba — his teammate in Winnipeg and Ann Arbor — as well as another college teammate in Tyler Motte around the Rangers has helped with the transition.
“The room has been great,” Copp said. “Everyone’s super welcoming, everyone’s reaching out, trying to get to know some guys.”
On the ice, things have been seamless. Through his first 13 games with the Rangers, Copp has been averaging a point per contest, finding a fit on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome.
That threesome, in nine games together, has outscored opponents a cool 6-2 with a 54.36 Corsi for percentage, per Natural Stat Trick.
“I think we can still play a lot better,” Copp said. “I think we can play with a little bit more speed.”
Trouba did not have the same criticism.
“[Copp] can make plays,” Trouba said. “He’s a good hockey player. It’s been fun watching him and [Panarin]. Two different worlds collide, it’s been fun to watch for me. I’m not surprised at all.”
Copp later admitted to some nitpicking — his line has unequivocally been successful. But he’d like the trio to get up the ice quicker, particularly on breakouts, since the group is so talented in the offensive zone.
“We can cycle the puck really well, we find the seam pass, we get the D involved, we’re jumping, we’re crisscrossing, so the more we can play in the offensive zone, the better,” Copp said. “So that’s kind of eliminating slowing it down and ragging it for an entire neutral zone shift.”
The success could pay off for the Jets if it extends into the postseason. The 2022 second-round pick the Rangers sent to Winnipeg in the deal for Copp becomes a first-rounder if New York wins in the first two rounds and Copp plays in over half of those games.
On Monday, though, it’s the Jets that will have more to play for. Winnipeg comes in clinging to playoff hopes, needing to make up 10 points with six games left in its season. In essence, that means the Jets can’t afford a loss.
“I think they’re gonna be desperate,” Copp said. “Go up and down the lineup, they got a good team, got a great goalie [Connor Hellebuyck] so they’re not gonna go away into the night easily. They’re gonna push.”
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