Andrew Copp last saw the ice on February 22nd, 2025, in what was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. The Detroit Red Wings lost Copp for the year following that contest, and they were never the same team, ultimately missing the playoffs for the ninth straight season.
At that point, the Wings were 28-22-6, with 62 points and looking like one of the NHL's better teams after 56 games. They were on pace for between 90 and 91 points, which may've put them on track to tie the Montreal Canadiens and potentially win the tiebreaker for the second wild card spot.
It shows us that Copp could be more of an impact player than his 23 points and 10 goals in 56 games last season suggests. And if you want more fun, when Todd McLellan first came on as the bench boss and had Copp on the ice, the Wings were an incredible 15-5-2, so you can see why I have a lot of optimism for his return.
Andrew Copp brings more impact for the Red Wings than his numbers show
Copp's a classic case of why you can't just look at basic stats. Fans will scoff at his production, but Copp will win at least 50 percent of his face-offs, and nearly half of those face-offs occurred in the defensive zone last year.
If you go through Copp's entire tenure in Hockeytown, 54.9 pecent of all his draws come in the Wings own territory at even strength. That's massive, especially for a team that has players like Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat, all of whom can score highlight-reel goals on a moment's notice.
He also played an incredible defensive role last season, seeing an on-ice save percentage, also at even strength, of 91.5. It's also worth noting that Copp went down with that pectoral injury in his 700th career game, so he's got experience for what's still a Red Wings team in transition.
What should Copp's role look like in 2025-26?
If I were the Red Wings, I'd peg him in on the third line at center, where he can play that defense-first role, win draws, and set up sequences for the top six. If Copp can do that, keep helping on the penalty kill, and really, make an impact in all the intangible areas that don't regularly appear on the stat sheet, he's gonna be a quiet impact player this season.
No, his numbers don't suggest this, but it doesn't mean the Wings aren't a better team overall without his presence and it was something they proved last season.