Writer: Gage O'leary
Twitter: @Deep_Shot_Gage
Twitter: @DeepShotSports
The Yzerplan:
Steve Yzerman is viewed by most as one of the greatest Redwings captains to ever play the game, but he's also viewed by most as Detroit's best General Manager, and for good reason. Yzerman was able to build the Tampa Bay Lightning into a championship caliber team and is a big part in Tampa Bay's success over the last few seasons. He's showing today that he's waisting no time in day 1 of NHL free agency as he's already signed Center' Andrew Copp and defensemen' Olli Maatta and Ben Chiarot, and while Maatta and Chiarot are great acquisitions, I'm focusing on Andrew Copp in this article and we'll take a look at what Copp can bring to the table for the next 5 years in Detroit... https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1547263018777468928?t=QCGOkk7HPHxQ2SWPsr5QVA&s=19
Andrew Copp and Redwings' agree on 5-year, 5.6 million dollar deal.
Yzerman's first big signing of the 22' free agent frenzy was Andrew Copp, the two sides have agreed to a 5-year, 5.6 million dollar (A Year) deal. He was selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Copp would remain in Ann, Arbor for the 2014 season as Captain of the Michigan Wolverines. Copp wasn't always just a Hockey Star, he could get it done on the gridiron as well, Copp played HS football at Skyline High School, he set numerous school records in his senior year. Within the first six games of the 2011–12 season, Copp had thrown for 1,732 yards and 27 touchdowns, including a state-record 557 yards and seven TDs against Pioneer. However, he suffered a broken collarbone in early October during a game vs Temperance Bedford. Upon recovery, Copp decided to accept an NCAA division 1 scholarship offer to play for the Michigan Wolverines. Copp made his NHL debut on 4/11/15 and in that game he scored an assist as his Jets would go on to lose that game 5-1 against Calgary. Copp was traded to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline on March 21, 2022, along with a sixth-round draft pick in exchange for Morgan Barron, a fifth-round draft pick and two conditional second-round draft picks. Copp scored his first goal with the Rangers a couple days later on March 25, in a 5–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. On April 21, during a game against the New York Islanders, Copp recorded his second career hat-trick in the first period, joining Don Raleigh (1948) and Kelly Kisio (1986). He also became the only Rangers player to score the first three goals of the game. Coming into the season, the 28-yr old Copp has scored 82 goals and has 120 assists for a career NHL total of 202 points. Andrew Copp has seemed to be really excited about joining the Redwings... https://twitter.com/cotsonika/status/1547266609814933506?t=-otJlgfaw_eAINXm5tf3SQ&s=19
Future of the Detroit Redwings:
It was only a matter of time before the Redwings let go of former Head Coach Jeff Blashil, they did just that and brought in former Lightning' assistant coach Derek Lalonde and named him the next Head Coach of the Wings Organization. They have a bright future but Lalonde said "Don't talk about playoffs yet". Which is understandable obviously, this team has some holes that needs filed and right now Yzerman is filling them but Detroit may still have a ways to go before contending. Perhaps they're biggest bright spot is they're young core, Detroit has one of the best young D-Men in the league, that's Calder Trophy winner Mo Seider who got like a freight train last season, he was probably Detroit's #1 D-Man all season long, he looked incredible in his rookie year. Young right wing, Lucas Raymond finsihed 4th in the Calder Trophy voting, he scored a hat-trick vs the Blackhawks on the road early this year and he'll be fun to watch in year two. Alex Nedeljkovic was a bright spot in 2022 after Yzerman acquired him in an off-season trade. He'll play alongside fellow Goalie Ville Husso who was recently acquired via a trade with the Blues. Jakub Vrana was injuried for most of last season but he came back in a big way scoring left & right. We'll hopefully see more of that dominance in 2022-23. Vrana was acquired in a trade with Washington that sent Anthony Mantha to the Capitals in exchange for Vrana, Richard Panik and two draft picks. It's fair to say the Redwings won that trade. Of course I didn't forget about Captain Dylan Larkin. Wings fans are anticapating an extension for Larkin soon, if he stays healthy he can be one of the better centers in ten NHL, hopefully he'll be wearing a Redwings jersey for a long time. Playoffs is not to far out of the Wings reach, if Yzerman continues to build around this young core Detroit could be contending for the Cup sooner than most are expecting them to...
Thank you for reading and have a great rest of your week!
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