Red Wings coach Todd McLellan was blunt when he spoke with the Free Press’s Helene St. James regarding the loss of Andrew Copp for the remainder of the regular season due to surgery on his left pectoral tendon:
“I don’t mean this disrespectfully to Andrew, but we have to move on,” McLellan said Tuesday. “There’s other people in the locker room that have been chomping at the bit to get more ice time and to show their teammates and show the staff and the organization and the fans that they have more to give, and they get an opportunity now, so – game on.”
As St. James points out, the Red Wings aren’t going to give up assets in the form of prospects or draft picks for a rental, so for the present moment, the coaches coach…
While McLellan deals with the immediate impact of losing Copp, who had centered the second line and played both special teams, the onus is on general manager Steve Yzerman to decide if the loss should be addressed from the outside.
“The information we got has been short term,” McLellan said. “We’ll have more time to talk about long term look and all that stuff. But as we work here, the staff up there continues to do their work. Our job is to coach the players that are in the locker room, try and get the most out of them and we’ll continue to do that.”
And the players, including Dylan Larkin. J.T. Compher, Joe Veleno, Sheldon Dries, Marco Kasper, Tyler Motte and Christian Fischer, play:
“Everybody has something to give,” McLellan said. “Sometimes it’s just a small portion, sometimes it’s a lot, depending on the situation, both on and off the ice. But often when you’re a little further down the food chain, you don’t offer what you have. That window has been opened up now because of Copper’s absence and the invitation is there for all the players to step up and give more. We’ll be watching. We’re anxious to see who is going to step up and who is going to contribute.”
There’s also the possibility the Wings decide to call up Nate Danielson, their first-round pick from 2023. Another option is to move Marco Kasper to center the second line, which he did earlier this season. He’s looked at home on the left wing on the top line next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, but long term the Wings see Kasper as a center.
“He has played well in that position,” McLellan said. “He looks very confident there. For as much as he’s benefited from playing with those two players, they’ve also benefited from playing with him. It’s something that we would like to keep together, but situations are going to present themselves as we go forward. There may be times where he does slide back into the center ice hole. We’ll see.”
Update: The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also spoke with coach McLellan regarding Copp’s injury…
Copp was hurt in the second period of Saturday’s game against Minnesota. During a scrum that broke out late in the period after Alex DeBrincat bodychecked Wild defenseman Brock Faber, Copp reached to haul down Minnesota’s Matt Boldy and injured his shoulder. Copp immediately skated off the ice and in apparent discomfort.
“Sometimes things happen with shoulders, they get put in an awkward position,” McLellan said. “It was during that scrum. Nobody really knew up until late Monday night, and here we are Tuesday with the result, and we have to live with it.”
Also:
McLellan said center Michael Rasmussen (upper-body), who missed Tuesday’s game, continues to be day-to-day. Rasmussen was struck in the head area by Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras, who was given a three-game suspension for the hit.
… The Wings traded goaltender Ville Husso to Anaheim late Monday. Husso has spent the majority of the season in Grand Rapids. McLellan said goaltenders Jack Campbell and Sebastian Cossa supply adequate depth.
“Ville has obviously been a tremendous goaltender for a long time and is looking for an opportunity to show he belongs (in the NHL),” said McLellan, who had Campbell in his lineup when both were in Los Angeles.
… McLellan said forward Christian Fischer would re-enter the Wings’ lineup Tuesday, with Copp unavailable.
