Player Discussion: Andrew Copp, the unsung hero

[surixon]

5 concussions - I hope someone in his life is pushing for him to retire. That is so scary. I have friends with multiple concussions and they just keep playing, even though they aren't getting paid or really have a shot at pro hockey. Young people think they are invincible.

Has he really already had 5? That is a lot and I agree I'd be thinking about retirement at this point if I were him.

He's a smart and driven guy, he'd be able to quickly land a role in some organizations hockey opps department.

 

[Jet]

Has he really already had 5? That is a lot and I agree I'd be thinking about retirement at this point if I were him.

He's a smart and driven guy, he'd be able to quickly land a role in some organizations hockey opps department.

Yeah I think for an especially cerebral, smart guy you'd think he'd want to try and protect that for his future. I think that's why he was so upset going in the tunnel.

 

[Channelcat]

Has he really already had 5? That is a lot and I agree I'd be thinking about retirement at this point if I were him.

He's a smart and driven guy, he'd be able to quickly land a role in some organizations hockey opps department.

C'mon.

 

[Duke749]

I think they have to shut Copp down for the rest of the season. This is about a man's health and future, not the Jets playoff chances or what we can get for him in a trade.

And if it’s very minor, perhaps not a concussion even, are we still shutting him down? I can’t imagine they’ll be rushing him back if it’s not needed. He’ll likely be out for however long he needs to be for his health.

 

[snowkiddin]

I believe Copp graduated (or will graduate) from college too. He’s set up well for life after hockey if his career has to wind down.

 

[WolfHouse]

And if it’s very minor, perhaps not a concussion even, are we still shutting him down? I can’t imagine they’ll be rushing him back if it’s not needed. He’ll likely be out for however long he needs to be for his health.

He self-reported symptoms last time and stayed out longer... i suspect Copp wil be out at least 10 games as precaution

 

[Imcanadianeh]

No way Copp would retire, if anything I’d imagine he would take the biggest offer this offseason and if he gets another concussion he can ride out the contract on LTIR.

Obviously everyone is different and each concussion is different but it seems a lot of people view concussions as if you get one, even if they’re mild that you have a great chance of permanent brain damage or lingering effects for the rest of your life.

Personally I’ve had 4 serious concussions and atleast 10 mild or less severe ones (I really should just be wearing a helmet full time) and I’m perfectly fine. I’m saying this not to sound tough or whatever just personally I haven’t been affected by my past concussions but who knows that could be complete luck and maybe if I got one more that would change.

I’m surprised that concussions haven’t really been a worry or medically investigated until recently considering it’s been know for hundreds of years (especially from boxing) That repeated blows to the head causes problems.

We talk a lot about concussions in sports but seem to really glance over that concussions are basically an expected outcome in combat sports and they’re sanctioned by the government.

Hopefully sooner rather than later we really figure out concussions so people can really know if they can continue their careers without worry or know when they absolutely need to retire.

It seems since concussions are so different that won’t ever be a possibility tho.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

5 concussions - I hope someone in his life is pushing for him to retire. That is so scary. I have friends with multiple concussions and they just keep playing, even though they aren't getting paid or really have a shot at pro hockey. Young people think they are invincible.

I had completely forgotten his previous concussions. There is a very broad range of concussions so it isn't a simple matter of counting how many. I hope this one is mild. Didn't see the hit last night so I have no feel for it at all.

 

[SCP Guy]

Crap...If he got any kid of concussion we just lost out on a highish draft pick, and Copp will lose some money/term on his next deal due to a now growing history of concussions....sucks all around

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Its gotta be tough... he's on the verge of making $5 maybe six million a year for 5,6,7 years... I would not retire regardless of the consequences

Regardless of the consequences? Really? Money isn't everything. It isn't even close to everything.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

My feeling on this matches my experience as a small business owner - I had a bad concussion/head injury who's effects lasted for two years and still linger to this day - I can relate to many of those symptoms you list. Its fkn problematic - but healing properly meant shutting down my business and that was just not an option.

It depends on his personal prognosis. It may be much worse than yours was. Or much better. It may be a case where he is not in much danger right now but where one more concussion, even relatively minor, would mean the rest of his life ruined.

We don't know any of this so we can't assess the risk reward. But we know he has already made 12 mil. If he hasn't spent it badly, he can be set for life on that.

 

[Duke749]

He self-reported symptoms last time and stayed out longer... i suspect Copp wil be out at least 10 games as precaution

What I’m getting at is he’ll be out as long as deemed necessary. We have no way of knowing the severity. It could be the rest of the year, it could be a couple of weeks. He won’t be rushed back either way.

 

[cbcwpg]

I had completely forgotten his previous concussions. There is a very broad range of concussions so it isn't a simple matter of counting how many. I hope this one is mild. Didn't see the hit last night so I have no feel for it at all.

And that's the issue: Neurosurgeons and other brain injury experts emphasize that although some concussions are less serious than others, there is no such thing as a minor concussion. In most cases, a single concussion should not cause permanent damage. A second concussion soon after the first one does not have to be very strong for its effects to be permanently disabling.

I hope all the best for Copp.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

No way Copp would retire, if anything I’d imagine he would take the biggest offer this offseason and if he gets another concussion he can ride out the contract on LTIR.

Obviously everyone is different and each concussion is different but it seems a lot of people view concussions as if you get one, even if they’re mild that you have a great chance of permanent brain damage or lingering effects for the rest of your life.

Personally I’ve had 4 serious concussions and atleast 10 mild or less severe ones (I really should just be wearing a helmet full time) and I’m perfectly fine. I’m saying this not to sound tough or whatever just personally I haven’t been affected by my past concussions but who knows that could be complete luck and maybe if I got one more that would change.

I’m surprised that concussions haven’t really been a worry or medically investigated until recently considering it’s been know for hundreds of years (especially from boxing) That repeated blows to the head causes problems.

We talk a lot about concussions in sports but seem to really glance over that concussions are basically an expected outcome in combat sports and they’re sanctioned by the government.

Hopefully sooner rather than later we really figure out concussions so people can really know if they can continue their careers without worry or know when they absolutely need to retire.

It seems since concussions are so different that won’t ever be a possibility tho.

What's changed is our willingness to accept such things as punch drunk boxers being functional idiots for 20 years before dying at 50.

One concussion can have terrible effects,including death. Many mild concussions can have very little long term effects. But each concussion you get increases your susceptibility to the next concussion. To some extent, they are cumulative. That extent is very hard to know.

Never mind your milder concussions, after 4 serious ones you are already at risk of long term effects. What has your medical advice been? I'd bet that you have been advised to not take unnecessary risks of further concussions.

 

[scelaton]

I had completely forgotten his previous concussions. There is a very broad range of concussions so it isn't a simple matter of counting how many. I hope this one is mild. Didn't see the hit last night so I have no feel for it at all.

Exactly right--we are really only in the first inning of understanding concussions and how to deal with them. I saw the hit last night--it was not nearly as bad as Greenway's IMO, but Copp was enraged walking back to the dressing room, knowing the implications of two traumatic head injuries in close succession.
If I were an interested GM, I would not write him off but would ask for MRI results and get my own docs involved first. He will likely recover fully from this, but his new risk profile puts him below Hyman's class in terms of value.

 

[snowkiddin]

I imagine Copp isn’t moved at the deadline now. A shame, I was looking forward to seeing what we could get for him.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

Had a concussion a decade ago. Took a solid 7 years to fully recover. Nasty things.

 

[sipowicz]

I imagine Copp isn’t moved at the deadline now. A shame, I was looking forward to seeing what we could get for him.

Copp's better off in a Jets uniform then somewhere else!

 

[tbcwpg]

I imagine Copp isn’t moved at the deadline now. A shame, I was looking forward to seeing what we could get for him.

Depending on the extent he still could be moved. If he doesn't play for a bit and goes on LTIR it reduces the cap impact and I think any team that acquires him isn't worried about missing the playoffs.

 

[snowkiddin]

Depending on the extent he still could be moved. If he doesn't play for a bit and goes on LTIR it reduces the cap impact and I think any team that acquires him isn't worried about missing the playoffs.

I do think that if there’s uncertainty around his health that no one will be interested in him, or, at the very least, his value will be significantly reduced among teams that will take a chance on him.

Obviously, more importantly, he makes a full recovery and doesn’t have any long-term or permanent issues stemming from these injuries.

Just an unfortunate situation all around.

 

[JetsFan815]

The trade could be some type of conditional pick conditional on him playing in the playoffs. That way the team trading for him could hedge their risk a bit

 

[Jets 31]

And wasn't Copp wearing the tinted visor because of his previous concussion? As someone who suffers from migraines and brain issues money means absolutely nothing if you can't get out of bed or function normally.

 

[Mathil8]

Depending on the extent he still could be moved. If he doesn't play for a bit and goes on LTIR it reduces the cap impact and I think any team that acquires him isn't worried about missing the playoffs.

I believe in order to trade for a player on LTIR you have to be able to fit in his cap before activating him on your own LTIR, so unfortunately doesn't reduce the cap impact much unless the right situation comes along.

 

[tbcwpg]

I believe in order to trade for a player on LTIR you have to be able to fit in his cap before activating him on your own LTIR, so unfortunately doesn't reduce the cap impact much unless the right situation comes along.

Ah. Well still, I don't mind retaining on him anyway so it should hopefully be a moot point.

 

[DRW204]

He's gtd.