Rangers GM Chris Drury rounded out his first NHL Trade Deadline as General Manager with his biggest move this season, acquiring forward Andrew Copp from the Winnipeg Jets for some picks and prospect Morgan Barron. The move means that Drury has added four forwards and a defenseman to the existing roster, without giving up a player on the team.
The 6-1 206lb forward can play left wing or center, and is a middle six forward who can add some offense, as well as kill penalties. The 27 year old native of Michigan, is comfortable playing in all situations, averaging over two minutes each on the PP and PK, as well as almost 15 minutes a night overall. Perhaps as important to the Rangers, is his ability to win in the faceoff circle, where he averages over 55% both in the offensive and defensive zones, and 54% overall.
It wasn’t a cheap acquisition however, with the Rangers giving up a conditional 1st/2nd round pick, depending on whether the Rangers win two rounds in the playoffs AND Copp plays in at least half the games. There’s also another 2nd round pick that will be either this year or next, at Winnipeg’s discretion.
Along with the picks, the Rangers gave up center prospect Morgan Barron. The former 4th round pick, looked to be part of the team’s future going forward, but has had difficulty breaking into Gerard Gallant’s line-up, being passed over in favor of Jonny Brodzinski and Tim Gettinger in recent games. Barron finishes his Rangers career with 1 goal and 1 assist in 18 games across two seasnns.
Also exchanged were the Rangers 5th round pick in 2023 for the Jets’ 2023 6th round pick. Copp will become a UFA this Summer, and will likely be looking for an increase on his expiring $3.64M contract. It remains to be seen what the Rangers decide to do, but with Ryan Strome also a UFA, and Filip Chytil on the final year of his $2.5M contract next season, the Rangers might find a way to make it work.
Anyway, for the moment the Rangers have added a little bit of scoring depth, and perhaps some better defense along the way to set themselves up as a potential black horse in the playoffs against the more favored teams. All while not costing themselves much in the way of the future.
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