Andrew Copp, James van Riemsdyk, Todd McLellan Media | Oct. 10, 2025

Andrew Copp, James van Riemsdyk, Todd McLellan Media | Oct. 10, 2025

last night as fast as possible. I mean, I think we had a meeting today to address some of the the mistakes that were made and I mean, uh, we didn’t the mistakes we made were just big mistakes. I think that was the issue and I think that was kind of the issue in the last preseason game as well. So, um, a lot of stuff to clean up, but those mistakes should be relatively easy to clean up. So, um, it’s game one. uh I don’t can’t ruin uh you know our our confidence just because of one game. So um had a good meeting today, had practice to kind of hopefully flush those thoughts and then come to uh tomorrow excited, ready to go. Is it disconcerting at all that you just spent three weeks preparing and then that’s the first performance? You know what I I’ve been on teams where the first game goes like that and then you go on and finish second in the league and go to the conference final. you know, there’s um it’s a it’s an interesting game. There’s a lot going on uh between the ceremonies, the red carpet, a lot going on. So, um we got to get we got to got to get fixed fast and there’s um there’s no excuse for the mistakes, but it’s not going to one one out of 82, you know, we can’t let one game just beat us down, let you guys beat us down, ruin confidence, and then we’re then we’re playing from behind all year. Uh we’re going to come expecting to win tomorrow. What was the next message we received? Was it kind of the same thing? I mean, I’m sure he’ll speak on it, but it was very stern. Uh, the mistakes that we made were uh, you know, unacceptable and, um, I think everyone in here knows it. You know, each individual mistake, every everyone knows it, but uh, yeah, it’s not going to it’s not going to ruin our year because we lost the first game. Are there mistakes, the kind that are to be fixed rather quickly? Well, that’s what I think, you know, like the they’re just they’re there they’re there’s such big mistakes that lead to two-on- ones, threeon- ones that um you know, they are they are like easily fixable. It’s just, you know, uh we we’ve preached being aggressive and we ended up being careless a little bit last night. So, I think we’re um we got to be we got to be smart with it. Um and that’s not going to change, you know, the way we the way we want to operate, but maybe just be a little bit smarter. What did you think of the kind of energy to address some of those things at practice out there? I I mean, I thought practice was pretty good. I thought towards the end started to get a little bit more energy, a little bit more energy. I mean, you know, you lose the first game, everyone comes in here, the music’s quiet. Uh not a lot of conversation. No one’s, you know, overly happy from last night. But like I said, it’s one out of 82 and um we got to bring that excitement and energy, you know, tomorrow or else we’re setting ourselves up for one loss to turn into two. Did it feel flat? Like I know that’s something. I think we started off first 5 minutes we’re really good and then one thing kind of happened and then another thing kind of happened and then it kind of really snowballed the rest of the first period after I mean I think 5 minutes in we were up one nothing shooting five or six nothing. Um so I think it kind of just snowballed a little bit on us. Um you know one mistake kind of led into two mistakes led into three mistakes. Um but like I said we got a lot of confidence in the group in here. We got confidence in, you know, the goalending forwards, both special teams. We’re not going to let one game ruin all that. How much of it is mental when things start to go bad to be able to respond quickly? I mean, it’s all mental, I would say. You know, it’s it’s um physically, you know, it’s game one, he better be he No one’s tired game one. Um we hadn’t played since Saturday. Um it’s it’s all mental. It’s all, you know, even within the shift, you know, if we’re coming off a couple bad shifts and we need something good to happen, like let’s let’s put a puck to the net. It’s simplify maybe maybe sacrifice um you know, a little bit of trying to make a play to be direct to get a little bit momentum, get them um you know, facing their own net. Uh there’s so there’s so many ins and outs uh shift to shift of feeling the game and we just got to do a little bit better job of that. Is Toronto a lot different without Mor? I guess we’re going to find out tomorrow. I mean, I think the they might be a little bit um different in the sense of, you know, how their lineup is structured. Um I mean, Martner’s a very very good hockey player, so uh you know, losing that never easy. Uh you know, they have some guys that can carry the pill and um you know, I don’t want to say make up for it, but they have other guys that are that are star players, obviously. So, uh it’s going to be a test no matter what. Thanks. And um yeah, just about um yeah, getting back into it now. And uh again, I think just getting the timing down and some of those things and some extra practice is never a bad thing. So, uh yeah, you just got to stay ready to go and it’s uh your opportunity to play. In your experience, how long does it normally take you with a regular training camp and everything to feel like you’re back at 100%. Um yeah, that’s a good question. I think uh usually there’s kind of um there’s that general buildup uh that you get when you start on with at day one. Obviously, you’re kind of jumping on a little bit of a moving uh train here when you come a little bit later. But I think with my experience and um uh been been through this all sort of things before, it’s almost like coming back from an injury in a way where you’re just trying to build yourself back up and um yeah, just make sure you’re uh ready to go. And I think um again it’s all about uh especially I think when you first get back in um whatever that may be just mentally just being uh sharp with your details and uh things like that and then kind of it’s like riding a bike where it becomes more natural the more reps you get and things like that. Have you ever started a season before without any preseason games due to injury or whatever? Uh I was actually thinking about that before. I don’t think so. I know one year I think we had a lockout year where we came back and we played without a preseason game but um obviously everyone was in the same boat there. So, uh, no, I don’t think I have, but I think again, sometimes the preseason can be, um, it’s it’s good in a way, but sometimes it can be a little misleading with all the different factors that go into that. So, I think, uh, ultimately, again, you just you just prepare the best way you can, and there’s nothing quite like, uh, live action in the regular season. So, uh, yeah, whenever I get that, uh, opportunity to do that, uh, I’m I’m excited for it, and I’ll be ready for it. What’s the challenge in potentially coming into a lineup after a team’s coming off a game like yesterday? Uh the challenge of it, oh um I I I mean again, it’s a long season. It’s 82 games. Like there’s going to be games that uh don’t go your way. And um again, obviously when it’s the first one, it’s probably a little bit more noticeable than if it’s game 37 in the middle of the season. But uh yeah, again, I think uh um we’ll be ready to go and have a good response game um the next one. How tough was it for you to have to watch last night and not be able to take part? Yeah, this is again what uh what I love to do and uh trying to get more kind of comfortable with uh with the guys and get to know the guys better and I think there’s no better way to do that than just being out there and being in the being in the battle with the guys. So, um so yeah, obviously I’m I’m excited to get the uh opportunity to get back in there and uh do that eventually. So, uh yeah, that’s uh that’s what I love to do. Do you feel kind of acclimated around here at this point? It’s kind of like one of the guys. I mean, do you not get lost around here at this point? Yeah, you start to day by day. I’m getting a little more comfortable with everyone. And uh I I’m actually glad I came a couple days in August just to try to meet um some of the guys, some of the staff, things like that. Just so uh it wasn’t completely new when I came uh for the season. So, I’m definitely glad I did that. But, uh again, I know a bunch of the guys. I knew a bunch of the guys previously on the team and and some of the uh support staff and stuff like that before. So, I think uh stuff like that makes any transition uh a little bit easier. Leading into yesterday, you were talking about needing some evidence to go off of now that you’ve had the evening, the morning to kind of sit through that game. What was the evidence you got? Boy, there’s a lot. Um, too much evidence. They’re all guilty. Um, it uh it it was exactly what we thought and felt during the game. um liked the start, liked the uh energy that we had and in the building and we got scored on uh the first goal we got scored on something we knew was coming. We had pre-couted it. We worked on it. Um and boom, that hit us uh like a 2×4 and then didn’t really recover after that for the rest of the first period. It was uh it was outnumbered rush after outnumbered rush. Um, I was actually shocked when I looked after the game and and saw that that they had 17 shots on goal and only 12 even strength because they’ve had at least 12 outnumbered rushes. So, they didn’t convert on on a number of them. Uh, but that didn’t diminish uh the fact that we aired in a lot of those areas. And it’s so much easier to fix if it’s one player or maybe one line. This was teamwide. Um, so we we dealt with it today. Um, you know, we talked about managing a game much better than we did and I told you you’re going to hear this all year. Um, that part of it was was quite disappointing, but I I do believe that we have better in there and I’d like to see it come out obviously tomorrow. Just can when you say management, just for people that might not know, what exactly do you mean? So game management is we could all go play a game and just play hockey and then drive home and no big deal. When our group gets on the ice, there’s certain things that we have to manage. We have to manage the score, the momentum. Uh we have to manage whether teammates are tired. You have to know when you’re getting on the ice is is the line tired that I’m out there with. You have to know the clock and the time. Uh you have to manage retaliation situations. uh Casper’s penalty uh in the first period that took a little life out of us too. Didn’t need to take it. Um you know, you have to manage moments where maybe de are pinching and the forward has to cover and he has to hold longer. He can’t just dive back in. Um so all of those situations build up in a game and if you end up on the positive side of those that that ledger most nights you really give yourself a good chance to win. No guarantee. Uh but we were definitely on the on the negative side last night and we didn’t stand a chance and there’s a whole bunch more. So is it disconcerting that that was a performance after three weeks of preparation? Um it was but I also I think I said I’ve been through this so many times where you you know you leave and you go wow we we really played well and we got it. Or you’re driving home and you’re going I haven’t seen that team in three and a half weeks. like uh in my mind it was a carryover from the Toronto game here, the last exhibition game. Um we seemed to play really well in Toronto, which we did. I thought we played an exceptional game there. Came back and it just got loose and um you know, we addressed it, but obviously we didn’t get it corrected. Uh so it’s it’s the it’s it’s alarming. I don’t know if it’s alarming, it’s disappointing. Um, but it’s if we can learn lessons and and respond from them, great. If we can’t learn the lesson, then it doesn’t matter what we do. Nandro Cop said there was a meeting. What was your message to the team? Well, we have a we have meetings after almost every game. Um, like I’ve said in the past, we have to catch them doing things right and reward them. And sometimes that’s what we look at. Uh, that wasn’t the case in this situation. and we took them through uh moments in the game, game management moments. And I think when you’re in it sometimes and you’re playing, you come off, you’re tired. You don’t even realize how often it’s happening and h why it’s occurring. You just hear coaches on the bench pitching and hey, cover this, do that. Uh, but when you get to be fresh, sit in a theater room, watch it, and it can be pretty humbling when all of a sudden you’re on you’re on the screen. Uh, you know, you’re clearly part of this, and you know exactly in that moment, you know exactly what you did and why you did it, and you’re thinking, man, I wish I wouldn’t have. Uh, those are the moments we have to clean up. Todd, how how do you strike that balance between wanting to play fast, uptempo, dejoining the rush, but also not getting caught on oddman rushes that much? Well, the responsibility of five guys as a unit is important. Um, you know, you can blame the D sometimes for jumping in at the wrong at the wrong time and not having any support. You can blame the forwards for not supporting when the D does jump in. Uh there’s the execution. So we want to be a fast, aggressive, hard team to play against. Um I think for moments in that game last night, we were uh it’s what we left on the table for the for the opposition that really hurt us and we have to clean that part up. Um I don’t know if you you would agree with me or not. We’ve seen even through exhibition season when we are going and doing things properly, we can be a handful. as soon as it gets away on us, uh, the other team becomes a handful for us. So, there’s still striking the balance and working on things, understanding moments. And, uh, update on JVR. Do you think he’ll be ready for tomorrow? Um, I think JVR is getting really close. Um, whether we use him tomorrow or not, uh, that’s still to be determined. Um, if not, I expect him in tomorrow, Saturday, Monday. you know, one of these Saturday, Monday type scenarios. Um, but, uh, he’s he he’s a hockey player now. He’s he’s back into it and I think after him watching last night, he probably wants to get in there and try and make a difference as well. Todd, how much of a litmus test is these first couple weeks? I mean, when you think about all these division games, all the top teams in the division, then you got Edmonton, too. I mean, is that a good It is. Well, it is. Um, it is what it is. And, um, when we came back from the All-Star break or the Four Nations break last year, um, I really didn’t even realize it. You guys all brought it up, the the gauntlet we were going to run through. Well, we have that early in the year. Um, but I I will, you know, we’ve talked about it as well. I think last year this team played the Rangers right off the bat a number of times and Nashville and they were a couple of the favorites. uh you know, so sometimes it doesn’t end up being what it supposed to be. Uh but the uh the past indicates to us that we’ve got our hands full to begin with and we got to play a lot better than we did. You said last night, you know, you expected guys to say, you know, we’ll fix it and you wanted it to be now. Like where does that kind of urgency come from for you and did you sense that that was something I asked I actually asked a couple maybe three or four players like, I I are we tired of this yet? and they were longtime Red Wings. They didn’t come from other organizations. Just, you know, I I when is enough enough to to play sloppy like that? And and and I wasn’t blaming those players. I wasn’t saying, “Hey, it’s your fault.” But it has to have an impact on those guys. They got to be sitting in there going, “Okay, enough already.” But if those four start or five start and make a difference, then the rest will follow. And I’m hoping that will happen. What did you take the most away from the performance of the three rookies that were making their debut last night? Yeah, you know, it’s um got to be a hard game for them to play in. Um simply because it started well and then it just fell off the map and they they were part of it. Um I I thought Axe the first half of the game he was uh a little effective. Then he got a little, you know, a little off his game for whatever reason. And then uh Brance was uh you know he was working and putting himself in a position but not a lot got done um you know and not blaming him or anything like that. And Finn’s used his his speed but wasn’t quite as effective as it was um prior but when you’re turning pucks over it’s hard to get in and forch check. You’re do spending all your time working back. So, you know, the three of them uh weren’t necessarily at the scene of the crime a lot, which is a good sign. Um, but also their effectiveness in the game was probably hampered by the way the team played. What was your message to Gibby last night? And there were several players saying they felt that he was left out to dry. You agreed with that. Did you have a specific message for her? I left Gibby alone. He’s uh, you know, he’s a veteran goalender. We have a goalender coach here that uh has has sat down with them and worked with them. I I focused my attention on the the non-goalies and they needed a lot of attention. Two preseason games against Toronto. Now you have two regular season ones coming up. It’s been a hearty dose of them. Do you take stock from their play in the preseason and how do you what stands out to you about the Leafs? Well, they’re the Leafs. They uh you know they’re offensively gifted. um Mitch Martner or no Mitch Martner, they they can score goals. Um and you know, everybody I don’t know if anybody even remembers, but they pushed the Stanley Cup champs to the to the brink last year. Maybe it didn’t go their way, but that’s the type of team and quality of team they have. And um our task is getting harder, the gauntlet, uh day by day. So, we we will look a little bit at some of the exhibition stuff and certainly the the Montreal game that they played. Oh, sorry. I’m sorry. Yeah. Tal and go.

Andrew Copp, James van Riemsdyk, and Todd McLellan speak with the media following Red Wings practice on Friday October 10, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena.