If Cozens Isnt Ready

I've been pondering where the Sabres go from here for a few weeks, and while I haven't come up with any genuine solutions nor do I have any actual stake in the Sabres being successful, there's something here that's worth addressing.

If the Sabres are in any shape or form serious about addressing their need for a second line center, and are equally as serious about icing a competitive team for Eichel and the fanbase, this isn't enough. This isn't close to being enough. Dominik Kahun might be listed as a center, but he's taken about a faceoff per game over the course of his career. This man is not the answer to your woes down the middle. He's a winger through and through, but could be a quality one for the Sabres.

Ignoring Okposo, you have a total of $6.2M dedicated to the fourth line and the two scratched forwards. Most teams don't spend that kind of money on their bottom pair, fourth line, and scratches combined. Is having the leagues most expensive bottom-of-roster going to help the Sabres win games? Buffalo has one cheap year of Dalin and Jokiharju left. If there's ever been a time to make the money work and accomplish something, time is of the literal essence to get something done right for a change. Between an Okposo buyout, playing Cozens > Lazar, and committing less than $3M to the fourth line and scratches, there's room for real, genuine change. The Sabres can be diplomatic and offer a Middelstadt, 2020 1st Round Pick package for Cirelli, but at the end of the day, the Sabres are at the point where ignoring Tampa's immediate cap distress is absurd. Another draft pick isn't saving this franchise: spend the assets and get a legitimate #2C.

Vesey & Simmonds as the extra forwards doesn’t make sense to me
Maybe Lazar or Asplund as the 13th

Girgs & Larsson are gonna get more $$$
Maybe even over $2mil per

And we really need to get another goalie to pair with Ullmark
Hutton has played well, but also horrible at times
If he goes .500 during that 0-8-2 stretch, then we are ahead of Toronto right now

Also, if Cozens isn’t ready, we need to at least bring in a placeholder at 2C (Bonino, Haula, etc) until Cozens is ready
Botts said today he sees Kahun as more of a winger,
so we need to have a better 2C option