New Ranger Andrew Copp faces old Winnipeg Jets teammates

Andrew Copp knew as soon as he was traded to the Rangers by the Winnipeg Jets at the March 21 deadline that this day was coming. But knowing it nearly a month in advance doesn't make Tuesday night’s game between his new team, the Rangers, and his old team, the Jets, any easier for Copp.

“I think you can kind of prepare for it all you want to, but I think once you get on the ice, and I see them on the other side, it's going to be a little weird,’’ Copp said after the Rangers’ practice on Monday.

The 27-year-old forward had dinner plans with some of his old teammates Monday, then expected to try his best to perhaps eliminate his old team from playoff contention Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Winnipeg entered the game 10 points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference with six games to go. A regulation loss Tuesday would all but seal their fate.

That wasn’t Copp’s problem anymore, though. Once he joined the Rangers, his own playoff future was assured. The Rangers (49-21-6 entering Tuesday) clinched a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference on April 9, and with six games left in the regular season are battling for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Copp, acquired from Winnipeg along with a sixth-round pick in 2023 for two conditional second-round picks and prospect Morgan Barron, has been a key addition to the Rangers. He had five goals and eight assists in 13 games with the Blueshirts entering Tuesday, and along with fellow newcomer Frank Vatrano he has helped define, emphatically, coach Gerard Gallant's top six forwards.

Vatrano, who was acquired from Florida about a week before the deadline, has taken over the right wing spot on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Copp has been a perfect fit on the right wing of the second line with Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin. And, entering Tuesday, the Rangers’ record from the trade deadline — when they added Copp, forward Tyler Motte and defenseman Justin Braun — was 9-3-1.

Gallant conceded Monday that the instant chemistry and immediate success Copp has had with Strome and Panarin did surprise him somewhat.

“Maybe a little bit,’’ Gallant said. “I expected him to be a good, solid player. And he's playing with some pretty skilled guys there, so he's probably getting a few more points than I thought he would. But I like what he's bringing to our team. He's good for the PK, he's playing the second PP unit, and, definitely, that line's been better.’’

Defenseman Jacob Trouba, Copp’s friend since they were 10 years old — they were teammates in youth hockey (until they were 15) and then, at 16, with the U.S. National Team Development Program, at the University of Michigan and then in Winnipeg, before Trouba’s own trade to the Rangers in the summer of 2019 — said he hasn’t been surprised at all.

I think the last few years he's played lower in the lineup, at least when we were in Winnipeg [together],’’ Trouba said. “He was always playing on that third line, or even sometimes on that fourth line. And now he's getting a chance to play with really good players, and he can make plays. He's a good hockey player, and it's been fun watching him and ‘Bread’ [Panarin].’’

Copp believes he, Strome and Panarin have the potential to be even better than they’ve been.

“I think we've had some good games, and then I mean, I think we can still play a lot better,’’ he said. “I think we can play with a little bit more speed, I think we can kind of get out of our ‘D’ zone quicker than maybe we have been, and then finish on our chances a couple [more] times. But I think we're still trying to figure it out.

“Some early success gives us some confidence, but there's always more plays to be made."

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.