Wings Would Like To Re-sign Kopecky

[Mike 0]

If this increases the Wings chances of signing Hossa, then keep him. Kopecky can stay on the 4th line and get his 7 minutes a night. Also, I do not think Kopecky is the biggest problem on the 4th line.

Edited February 7, 2009 by Mike

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

Kopecky is one of the worst players to earn a permanent roster spot on the Wings in the past 10 years. He fills absolutely NO role on this team well, and is taking a spot away from numerous players in GR who would serve the team better.

The coaching staff doesn't think so or he would be sent down. If he was as bad as everyone seems to think, it wouldn't be a big deal if he were lost on waivers on his way to GR. Is it possible that they know something that all of us don't, or is it a conspiracy to keep good players in GR so the Grif's can win a championship?

[Peleshob 0]

As easy as it is to rip on Kopecky, I really don't think he's all that bad. If you watch closely he finishes the majority of his checks and isn't a bad skater. In his time on a line with Hudler and Filppula I actually thought he looked good.

[Mors 201]

The coaching staff doesn't think so or he would be sent down. If he was as bad as everyone seems to think, it wouldn't be a big deal if he were lost on waivers on his way to GR. Is it possible that they know something that all of us don't, or is it a conspiracy to keep good players in GR so the Grif's can win a championship?

I honestly don't know what the coaches see in Kopecky. He's not tough, he's not a good skater, he has the point-getting ability of Downey minus all fighting skills. From what I've seen Downey, Helm, Abdelkader > Kopecky in terms of providing an attribute the team is currently lacking. Kopecky floats around throwing love taps and losing the puck in 99% of attempts to skate it up the ice.

Re-signing Kopecky means we're looking at the same 4th line next season that we have this year, because I really don't think Draper or Maltby are going to retire after this season. Even if they did we'd still be stuck with their salary anyway.

[Swede40 0]

He can be replaced.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

I honestly don't know what the coaches see in Kopecky. He's not tough, he's not a good skater, he has the point-getting ability of Downey minus all fighting skills. From what I've seen Downey, Helm, Abdelkader > Kopecky in terms of providing an attribute the team is currently lacking. Kopecky floats around throwing love taps and losing the puck in 99% of attempts to skate it up the ice.

Re-signing Kopecky means we're looking at the same 4th line next season that we have this year, because I really don't think Draper or Maltby are going to retire after this season. Even if they did we'd still be stuck with their salary anyway.

Holland just doesn't seem like the kind of a guy to have a man crush on anyone. I can't see him keeping a palyer making 500K in the lineup for no reason.

[Konnan511 1,736]

This is unfortunate. Unless it's a two-way deal where he could be sent down. I don't see the value in this guy - you never hear his name mentioned in a game unless he's penalized.

Two-way deal means he'd be paid less in the minors. He is out of waiver options, so to go down, he'd have to clear waivers.

[b.shanafan14 733]

boo Kopecky, yay Hossa and Franzen. If Franzen would sign for $4mil/season that would be sweet. I see Filppula playing elsewhere next season, which is unfortunate. Sounds like Hossa really wants to stay which is good news. But once again, I hate the salary cap.

[Hockeytown_Ryan 119]

what does the "tagging rule" mean. i searched on google but i'm still confused about it

can someone please explain? thanks in advance

Difficult to Explain actually A team can only TAG so much payroll room

Here -> http://www.nhlpa.com/CBA/index.asp

then look at page 212 or use Adobe to look up Tagging rule

[Mors 201]

Holland just doesn't seem like the kind of a guy to have a man crush on anyone. I can't see him keeping a palyer making 500K in the lineup for no reason.

Honestly, it seems crazy to think that the Hossa connection could really have that kind of pull, but at this point Hossa living at Kopecky's house really seems like a possible answer that won't go away.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I think this could turn out to be a really good move. Kopecky, despite how much people rag on him, fits his role nicely as a young fourth liner. He's also the cheapest player on this team and possibly the entire league that fits' our mold (despite how many players we have in Grand Rapids who many say are tonnes better than Kopecky, they're all unproven at the nhl level as well will fill roles that will require a greater hit off the cap). I don't see Kopecky making much more than he makes now throughout his career. This could be a very significant indication that Holland is trying to make room for some other bigger salary players.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Let me tell you a little story about the world's greatest female soccer player, Marta.

She played with the swedish team Umeå IK for a couple of years, until she signed with Los Angeles Sol after the last season.

At the same time, one of Marta's teammates in Umeå IK, a highly average, borderline bad, defender by the name of Johanna Frisk was also signed by the Los Angeles club.

Now, one might wonder why would this Los Angeles team bother signing that defender..

Well, even though all the news articles simply refer to them as "friends", everyone and their grandmother over here knows that the two are a couple.

And it's more than a little likely that Marta would only sign with LAS on the term that they also brought Frisk over there.

Now what does all of this have to with Kopecky, or Hossa.. well...

[miller76 463]

I like Kopecky. Look around the league at fourth liners, and tell me what you see. I see crap! He is obviously a bigger contribution in Babcocks and Hollands eyes then some of us on here believe he is. And it's not like the Wings haven't seen what Helm, Abdelkader, and Leino can do, and what kind of development they still need. Obviosly the Wings want to put the best players on the ice that are available, to give them the best opportunity to win and to go deep into the playoffs.

[esteef 2,679]

This is just a ploy to win over Hossa. "Yeah Marian, we're going to re-sign Tomas too, don't worry guy."

It's kind of like when a woman promises more "fun time" once you're married... next thing you know you're trapped in an 8 year/6mil contract with limited to no "fun time". True story.

I can vouche for that! Those tricky b*tches!

esteef

[VM1138 1,921]

A seemingly innocuous little tidbit at the end of a story detailing Hossa and Franzen's interests in re-signing is this:

No quotes, but Ansar Khan is very much a reliable source.

I guess this means the Wing's aren't serious about rewarding hard work and getting a physical presence on the team.

I have so many expletives going off in my head about this.

[esteef 2,679]

I think this could turn out to be a really good move. Kopecky, despite how much people rag on him, fits his role nicely as a young fourth liner. He's also the cheapest player on this team and possibly the entire league that fits' our mold (despite how many players we have in Grand Rapids who many say are tonnes better than Kopecky, they're all unproven at the nhl level as well will fill roles that will require a greater hit off the cap). I don't see Kopecky making much more than he makes now throughout his career. This could be a very significant indication that Holland is trying to make room for some other bigger salary players.

Helm > Kopecky. Proven.

esteef

Edited February 7, 2009 by esteef

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Holland has officially lost his mind.

Kopecky should be working as a doorman at the Olympia Club. He's just a useless 6'3 broomstick that doesn't do anything valuable out there whatsoever. He's the most expendable player on the team right now.

[Konnan511 1,736]

I don't get the whole "Kope fits his role well" argument. What exactly is his role on the team? His check to being check ratio is like 1:5 and he hasn't been able to do anything impressive on the PK like the rest of the Wings...So what exactly is his role besides being a fourth line checker who makes the league minimum with zero offensive ability at the NHL level?

[Winged_Wheeler 3]

As easy as it is to rip on Kopecky, I really don't think he's all that bad. If you watch closely he finishes the majority of his checks and isn't a bad skater. In his time on a line with Hudler and Filppula I actually thought he looked good.

Yeah, I also liked the Franzen, Filppula, Hossa line the other night. Whenever Flip plays with Cleary, Cleary never passes and makes Flip look like he sucks.

[sureWhyNot 19]

Oh my I do not like the sounds of this. Kopecky is garbage, and any attempt to say otherwise is borderline delusional. Now if keeping Kopecky helped somehow in inticing Hossa to stay I am all for it - other then that the guy has to go.

I mean he is bad - this does not take a lot to see, all you have to do is look at his stats and/or one of his shifts. To keep anyone of the guys who seem ready in GR down in lieu of giving Kopecky a spot is laughable, that is unless it helps keep Hossa (which I would be surprised if it did seeing as though these guys are profesionals and look at this as something other then a "he stays or I go" type of situation.)

[Nev 1,085]

If signing Kopecky for 0.5M on a two-way deal is the payback for getting Hossa to sign for $6M per year, then thats a good deal.

And to be fair to the fella, he is coming off a serious injury last year which often affects someone play the next season. It will be interesting to see how he does with a full injury-free off-season behind him.

So yeah, he is a career 4th liner/AHLer, but having him as the 12th/13th forward and keeping Hossa is a price worth paying IMO.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Helm > Kopecky. Proven.

esteef

Helm is also going to make much more than Kopecky, and has a greater potential than playing on the fourth line. So if Holland is looking to somehow fit Zetterberg, Hossa, Franzen, Hudler, Sammy or some combination of the three or four of them, it would be wise to sign Kopecky to a tiny contract for a number of years to have a low cap hit so there's more room for Hudler, or Franzen, or whoever. It is very possible that after a year or so, Helm is playing like Cleary and can demand, or expect, at the very least around 3M. The kid has a lot of potential, I don't think anyone will deny that. Its safe to say, however, that with how Kopecky is playing right now, we could sign him for three or four years for a cap hit of about a million. This is quite possibly one of a number of ways Holland is going to lower our cap, so he can focus on higher priority guys.

Also: I'm just curious, and this is no way a knock on your logic, but how is Helm a proven better player than Kopecky?

Edited February 7, 2009 by Echolalia

[joshy207 156]

If Kopecky's role on the team is to make all the other players look good, well then, he fills that role very well. Not once have I been impressed with anything I've seen him do. This is where I think the whole "loyalty to anyone who's ever put on a Red Wings jersey" goes a bit too far. There are better options than Kopecky available within the organization.

Also, why does everyone keep linking Hossa to Kopecky? I know Hossa is staying at his house, but why does that make them a package deal? It doesn't IMO.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

In the same way Chernobyl power plant provides some good energy.

Haha, I LOLed at that.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Holland has officially lost his mind.

Kopecky should be working as a doorman at the Olympia Club. He's just a useless 6'3 broomstick that doesn't do anything valuable out there whatsoever. He's the most expendable player on the team right now.

QFT. There is no argument for Kopecky. He doesn't play his "role" well, and he doesn't do anything else well either. Hes more useless than Mowers or Devereaux ever were.