The Winnipeg Jets are currently down a few guys due to injuries. One of the big names is Adam Lowry. That was what brought Roslovic and Petan to the NHL. It’s also what brought Andrew Copp up to the third line.
Andrew Copp has been anything but spectacular. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a hard worker, but he’s not producing. You can’t expect a fourth or third line checking forward to get the majority of your goals, but when he misses every opportunity, there’s a problem. Copp hasn’t scored since December 9th, which should be about a 25 or 26 game drought.
Copp has so many opportunities, almost every game but for whatever reason he isn’t able to capitalize. It’s either a bad shot, he misses the net, a missed pass, a whiffed shot, and the list just goes on and on. There shouldn’t be any issue scoring with Armia and Connor as your two wingers. Those are among the top players on the team.
Obviously a slump is hard to snap, but a 25 game slump is like trying to snap a metal pole. Could a conditioning stint solve the problem?
Copp’s drought is awful. Nothing around it, just plain bad. I think at the NHL level, about fifteen minutes a night on average is pretty good. I feel if Copp isn’t turning his season around with that much time on ice, night after night, something should be done.
With the Winnipeg Jets injuries, it doesn’t exactly make sense to be down another main roster player. Maybe if we get Lowry or even Brandon Tanev back we could try something, but that’s not going to happen just yet.
What if we were able to send him down amid our injuries and call up Mason Appleton? Maybe that would wake Andrew Copp up. It would also give Appleton a chance at proving his worth for Winnipeg. I like this scenario because if Copp goes down, he’ll go with a chip on his shoulder. He’d want to get back up, and with Appleton in, the compete level would have to go up. Late in the season with Appleton in, players would start getting thirsty for spots. That’s exactly what we need going into the playoffs.
Next: Why Michael Hutchinson deserves more time
Whatever the Winnipeg Jets decide to do, Andrew Copp needs to pick it up. I like him, but I definitely see room for improvement.