If you thought the New York Rangers wouldn’t make some sort of splash before the trade deadline passed, well, you were wrong.
New York beat out several suitors to acquire Andrew Copp and a 2023 sixth-round draft pick from the Winnipeg Jets, the return on which is somewhat convoluted.
The Jets will receive forward Morgan Barron, two conditional second-round picks and a 2023 fifth-round pick. The first conditional pick is New York’s own and becomes a first-round choice if the Rangers make the Eastern Conference finals and Copp plays in at least 50% of the games in both preceding rounds. The other second-round choice will either be St. Louis’ pick in 2022 or New York’s pick in 2023.
Got all that? Good. Now, let’s grade the GMs:
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Rangers are a contending team with no cap space. Hence, they were heavily shopping the rental market. Copp is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $3.64 million cap hit. It became increasingly clear Copp wasn’t going to re-sign in Winnipeg, and New York stepped up with a big offer to lure him to Broadway.
The Rangers should be a good fit for Copp. He’s a strong two-way forward who’s been historically better defensively than he is offensively. New York has its heavy hitters up front already in Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. Copp brings the coveted secondary scoring. He can be a middle-six winger or center, and what Copp sometimes lacks for in finish, he makes up for in generating opportunity for his linemates.
Copp is also an asset on special teams, logging significant power-play and penalty-kill time over his career. That level of versatility is why Copp was so highly sought after ahead of the deadline, and he will instantly elevate a Rangers team that didn’t just need more scoring but more effective defensive play from its forwards, too.
All that said, how well this trade ages might depend on whether Copp signs an extension with the Rangers. The return to Winnipeg was intriguing, and not insignificant.
Barron was a sixth-round choice by New York in 2017 and has played only 18 NHL games, so there’s a lot of untapped potential being given back to the Jets. As far as the draft picks go, if New York can make a run at a conference final (and beyond), losing a first-rounder is fine. If it doesn’t, losing Barron (depending on he develops), two seconds and not re-signing Copp doesn’t look so rosy.
But general manager Chris Drury obviously must believe in this group and wanted to give it the best chance possible amid cap constraints. Now Copp (and the team) must deliver.
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff pulled this off nicely.
Winnipeg isn’t likely to make the playoffs. Copp wasn’t likely to re-sign. Cheveldayoff was fielding calls from multiple teams that he could leverage against one another. So while parting with Copp hurts the Jets today, what’s coming back should make them better tomorrow.
Barron has a great reputation in the American Hockey League for his two-way capabilities, and he’s got 15 points in 25 games this season for the Hartford Wolfpack. He’s a power forward who is young, motivated and should get a terrific opportunity in Winnipeg to find his game at the next level.
The draft choices will also help the Jets improve, either as prospects or assets for Cheveldayoff to use on established acquisitions. Winnipeg was lacking in picks over the next two drafts anyway, and now it’ll have 12 through 2022 and 2023. That provides Cheveldayoff with some flexibility to figure out where exactly these Jets are steering next.