Morning Notes: Copp, Spacek, Finals

With the New York Rangers advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Winnipeg Jets are getting an improved draft pick. As CapFriendly reports, the conditional second-round pick from the Andrew Copp trade will upgrade to a 2022 first-round pick now that the Rangers have won a pair of playoff rounds. It also required Copp to play in at least 50 percent of those matches, and he has, suiting up for all 14 games so far.

While it’s never a great feeling to give up a first-round selection, the Rangers certainly aren’t complaining, given the success the team and Copp individually are experiencing. The pending free agent forward has 12 points in the postseason so far, including two in each of the deciding game sevens so far. The first 28 picks in this year’s draft are now set.

• Speaking of Jets draft picks, Michael Spacek has signed a new two-year contract with HC Ambri-Piotta, taking his talents to Switzerland after a strong performance in Sweden this year. The 25-year-old had 46 points in 49 games while also suiting up for Czechia in both the Olympics and World Championship. Winnipeg decided not to issue Spacek a qualifying offer after the 2019-20 season with the Manitoba Moose, making him an unrestricted free agent. If he ever chose to test his hand in North America again, he could sign with any team.
• After the Hurricanes were eliminated last night, the league revealed the full schedule for the Conference Finals, which will kick off tonight with the Edmonton Oilers visiting the Colorado Avalanche. The round will be over by June 14 at the very latest, meaning the Stanley Cup Final is set to start soon after that. Interestingly enough, should the Eastern Conference Final need it, there will be two full off days between games six and seven, meaning there’s no hockey on Monday, June 13.