They don't have to protect him as he will be a UFA that summer. I would personally be looking to deal him this summer for a second paring dmen to play with Pionk.
I think Copp can do his job just as well defensively while putting up more points.
My favorite GIF is a good fit again....
With the loss of Buff, Chariot and Trouba our grit level dropped significantly to new all time Jet lows. Lowry is the
ONLY Jet now that strikes any fear in anyone playing us. Like it or not you still do need a guy or two who is willing to drop the mitts and can do a good job of it (ask Ryan Reaves).
Without Lowry the Jets go from soft to easily manhandled and if we ever do make the playoffs things just escalate and his value rises.
I think we're going to get pushed around even more now and expect to see Perreault hitting the ice like a sack of hammers a couple times a game.
Copp is a great defensive forward (so is Lowry) but not at all a replacement for Lowry's size and grit.
Copp has 16 pts while getting PP time and top 6 time. Lowry has 10 with no PP time. Not a huge difference. And both should be 3rd liners at most. Copp in the top 6 means we seriously lack top 6 depth.
I'd actually rather have seen JC Lipon get the call up because he can somewhat fill the toughness void left with Lowry out and let's face it, whoever gets in on the 4th line is only getting 5-9 minutes so looking for secondary scoring there is pissing in the wind. Sure Lipon has reached his ceiling but he fits the bill at the moment.
I'm all for developing Vesalainen but he's not exactly tearing it up with the Moose with 22 points in 44 games (Lipon has 23 pts) and I think the timing was wrong because we need an injection of grit right now on the bottom 6. Especially considering they don't contribute on the scoreboard anyway.