The Score’s Josh Gold-Smith offers a list of 5 offseason moves which served as “head-scratchers” this morning, and Gold-Smith is not a fan of the Wings’ signing of J.T. Compher:
Steve Yzerman is not the same GM with the Detroit Red Wings that he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The first major hint came in July of last year when he signed overachieving Michigan-born free-agent forward Andrew Copp to a five-year deal at $5.625 million annually.
Copp found his game as a multi-positional offensive contributor over parts of two seasons – his final ones with the Winnipeg Jets – before they traded him to the New York Rangers at the 2021-22 deadline. He posted over a point per game with the Blueshirts down the stretch of that regular season and then had a great postseason, too. But after cashing in with the Wings, the local boy collected only nine goals and 33 assists while posting subpar underlying numbers over 82 games last season.
Fast-forward to July 1, 2023. Yzerman signed eight players that day, but he gave the most money and longest term (five years, $25.5 million) to J.T. Compher, a similarly versatile but limited forward. Compher came off a career year offensively, having produced 52 points in 82 games with the Colorado Avalanche. He’s a fairly dependable second-line center and proved he can play on the top line when necessary.
But the Red Wings now pay their middle-six pivots, Compher and Copp, more than $5 million each for five and four more seasons, respectively. Yzerman traded for and extended Alex DeBrincat eight days later, but handing out significant term and money to middle-of-the-lineup players like Compher could haunt the GM if Detroit eventually develops into a contender.
Continued; I’m of the opinion that Yzerman overpaid a bit for both Copp and Compher, but I don’t believe that either move will “haunt” the Red Wings.
