Rangers acquire Andrew Copp from Jets, Tyler Motte from Canucks
The New York Rangers have made two trades to add to their forward depth, acquiring Andrew Copp from the Winnipeg Jets and Tyler Motte from the Vancouver Canucks.
Confirming Andrew Copp is being traded to #NYR.
First to report: @DarrenDreger.
Hearing #Canucks have traded Tyler Motte to #NYR for a 2023 4th round pick.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 21, 2022TRADE
To #NYR
Andrew Copp (C/LW)
2023 6th Round Pick
🔁
To #GoJetsGo
Morgan Barron (C)
Conditional 2nd Round Pick
Conditional 2nd Round Pick
2023 5th Round Pick
[per @DarrenDreger]
The #NYR acquired Andrew Copp (1 yr $3.64M Cap Hit then UFA) & '23 6th for 23 y/o F Morgan Barron (Yr 2/3 $925K Cap Hit then RFA), '22 NYR 2nd (becomes 1st w/ 2 series win & Copp 50% GP), '22 Stl 2nd (WPG can move to '23 2nd) & '23 5th
NYR add $3.64Mhttps://t.co/wLmS4SRWGd
The Jets selling Copp indicates that the team isn’t confident it will reach the playoffs this season. As it stands right now, Winnipeg is sixth in the Central Division, four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wildcard seed in the Western Conference.
Copp has 13 goals and 35 points this season and is on his way to setting a new career-high in both categories. He’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and will be looking for a raise on the one-year, $3.64-million RFA deal he signed with the Jets last summer.
Motte is another impending unrestricted free agent coming from a team who doesn’t believe they have legitimate playoff aspirations. He’s in the final year of a two-year contract worth $1.225 million annually.
Like Copp, Motte is on his way to setting a new career-high in points, as he currently has 15 through 49 games. While this has been the most productive season of Motte’s career, he’s known mostly as a defensive center who can kill penalties and take on difficult minutes.
Copp and Motte could figure to be New York’s third- and fourth-line centers, which are roles currently occupied by Filip Chytil and Jonny Brodzinski.