Detroit Red Wings' Andrew Copp making big money, but not scoring. Is his role sustainable?

Andrew Copp certainly showed his toughness when, less than a week after worrying about how badly his cheek was indented, he suited up for the Detroit Red Wings.

Copp ended up playing 79 games in his second season with the Wings, producing 13 goals and 20 assists, a nine-point decrease from 2022-23, when he had nine goals and 33 assists in 82 games. Production-wise, neither this year's 33 points nor last year's 42 rise to the expectation that went hand-in-hand with the five-year, $28.125 contract he received in the summer of 2022. Copp's $5.625 million salary cap hit ranked third on the team this past season, behind Dylan Larkin's $8.7 million and Alex DeBrincat's $7.875 million.

Paying that much for a forward delegated to the third line and penalty kill is steep, but even if the Wings retain a chunk of Copp's salary, the three years remaining on the contract project to make it hard to strike a trade.

Copp was prompted for a self-evaluation a few days after the Wings were eliminated from playoff contention in their season finale.

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"I think I’m still trying to kind of figure out my performance," he said. "I think there were really good stretches and stretches where I didn’t love my game as much."

Copp spent most of the first month-plus of the season as a wing on the second line, with J.T. Compher. Compher's addition last summer — for five years, $25.5 million — was largely a response to the fact that the Wings were disappointed in Copp's performance centering the second line, which was the need they thought they addressed in signing him.

Around Thanksgiving, Copp started centering the third line, where he pretty much remained barring a few games here and there. He averaged around 16 minutes per game, serving as a regular on the penalty kill (2:20 minutes per game) and making scant appearances on power plays (46-second average).

Copp pointed to his minutes, and how they were distributed, as a factor in his evaluation.

"Role-wise, it kind of changed from last year being a little more offensive to this year, kind of playing against the other team’s top line, especially down the stretch," he said. "So, a checking capacity, and not a lot of power play.

"Every guy always wants to produce more. Obviously I can. But my focus with the way the lines and all the roles shook out, that was kind of what they needed from me."

Copp's best stretches, this year as last, came when he played with Michael Rasmussen — the two play a north-south style that suits one another, and this season, Christian Fischer proved a good fit to flesh out the line. The trio was as close to a checking-line identity as the Wings had. But injuries forced adjustments and the three had only just been reunited when Rasmussen was lost to an upper-body injury for the season on April 1. Then, on April 9, Copp left the game against the Washington Capitals in the third period after getting hit in the face badly enough he underwent surgery the next morning, and had to wear a full face cage when he returned.

To the Wings' and his disbelief, officials said they missed the incident.

"At the time I knew they didn’t make the call, but at the time, I was more worried about how my cheek was indented and any lingering head issues," Copp said. "I was shocked they didn’t make the call. I didn’t know if it was Olli (Määttä's) stick, too, but then looking at the replay, it was impossible to be Olli’s stick."

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The issue with Copp, who turns 30 in July, isn't how hard he plays, it's that his production is not commensurate with his salary. It was, from the get-go, on the higher side for a forward who had only one 20-goal season on his resume (from 2021-22, which he began with the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted Copp at No. 104 in 2013, and finished with the New York Rangers). But that's free agency in a nutshell: It's a player's market, where teams pay premiums for what is available.

The Wings signed Copp expecting him to build on the 53-point season he was coming off, even with accounting for the fact his offseason was hampered by undergoing core surgery.

Copp was fully healthy coming into this season, but his production still disappointed. He didn't see much top-six time, true — but neither did Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong, and they each scored 18 goals.

"I think I have proven that I can be a top-six offensive player," Copp said. "It wasn’t what was asked of me. If you’d look at the No. 1 strength of my game, you’d say hockey IQ and defending. I do relish that role. Everyone wants to produce, everyone wants to score goals, but whatever is best for the team I think is the biggest thing."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' Andrew Copp's contract bigger than his impact