Honestly, Copp is probably easily worth a 1st to a contender at the trade deadline, where picks tend to be undervalued.
Copp is far better than Foligno, who went for a 1st. Savard (yes, he’s a defenceman, but still) isn’t very good and he’s an upcoming UFA and he went for a 1st. Years ago Paul Gaustad went for a 1st.
I know Goodrow had an extra year on his contract, but he’s not even a third of the player Copp is and he went for 1st too.
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest Copp would return more than just a 2nd at the deadline, so if that’s all that’s being offered now I doubt you see a trade. But I figure teams would offer more for Copp because he’s very valuable.
Tough thing is, how do you trade him if he is playing top 6 on a team 2nd or 3rd in the division and possibly looking at home ice?
If we are having a rougher year than I anticipate, them yeah it's a no brainer. But if we are looking at competing to be in the final 8 teams again, how do you trade him?