DETROIT >> The frustrating thing for Andrew Copp was the way he got hurt.

Hockey players are going to get hurt; that’s not surprising. But to suffer a season-ending injury somewhat innocently, that’s gutting.

Copp went into the corner Feb. 22 — the Detroit Red Wings’ first game after the 4-Nations Tournament break — as a melee broke out after Alex DeBrincat’s big hit on Minnesota’s Brock Faber. Copp attempted to pull Minnesota’s Matt Boldy with his left gloved hand, but when Copp did, he immediately felt a pull as Boldy was getting hit in another direction.

A few days later Copp found out his season was over. Copp needed pectoral tendon surgery. It was a confounding, discouraging way to end a season, especially with Copp arguably playing his best hockey of the season and the Wings holding down a playoff spot.

“Such a fluke type of deal,” said Copp of the injury. “Your shoulder gets put in a bad spot and you kind of get hit from the front. That definitely stunk. I kind of knew at the time that something had ripped a little bit.

“It was a tough time, especially after the (4-Nations) break, and you get your time away a little bit, and how we were playing. How my line (was playing) and how I felt individually I was playing.“It was pretty brutal timing.”

Copp had surgery on the shoulder three days after the incident but was already doing conditioning and lower-body work in March, getting ready if the Wings made the playoffs. Of course, they did not, missing the postseason for a ninth consecutive year after a sluggish March knocked them off-kilter.

Copp will begin his summer off-ice work soon and there is no concern about Copp being anything less than 100 percent for the start of September’s training camp.

“You get a season-ending injury and there are ones a lot worse than this one,” Copp said. “I’ve been able to train my lower body and been able to have a pretty good quality of life. It’s not a knee or an ankle where you are bed-ridden, you’re sitting on the couch for months on end.

“As far as season-ending injuries go, it’s the best one, and I should be ready to go by next (season).”

The game against Minnesota also happened to be Copp’s 700th NHL game. He ended the season with 10 goals and 23 points in 56 games, but had a goal and three assists in his last five games while playing with offensive players such as Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. Copp’s work on the defensive end, the much-needed size (6-1, 203 pounds) he brings to the lineup, and his work on the penalty kill were all parts the Wings missed near the end of the season.

“Absolutely,” coach Todd McLellan said. “You don’t know what you’re missing until you miss it. We didn’t realize as a coaching staff, when we first got here, that he meant a lot to the team. In his situation, do you expect 35 goals from him? That’s probably unrealistic. But the things he does on the ice … he was really starting to play.

“He balances out the line a little bit.”

Copp appeared re-energized after McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde on Dec. 26 as the Wings’ head coach. Copp earned more of an offensive role under McLellan, who wanted the Wings to play more instinctively, which Copp appreciated and felt was beneficial for the Wings.

Copp was an enthusiastic believer in McLellan as soon as the coaching change was made.

“It’s tough when you’re not playing because you’re not in the fight, you don’t know the intricacies of the meetings and what’s going on the bench and all that,” Copp said. “But from the time I did have, I thought he (McLellan) was a real leader. He had a really nice presence in terms of getting us going, holding us accountable, but at the same time, empowering the players on the team, empowering the leadership and trusting us to instinctually play.

“You guys, the media, made a deal out of his ‘just play hockey’ but that kind of changed us for a little bit there, at least when I was in the mix, of trusting yourself instinctually. That’s something that was able to come back into my game — a little bit of confidence and letting my best quality, probably my hockey IQ, be my best quality.”

Copp feels a full training camp under McLellan will move the Wings forward even more.

“Two seven-game winning streaks in 20 games,” said Copp. “Hopefully with a full training camp and offseason and everything to plan, we’re not sitting here at the end of the regular season.”