Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan69
I dont think any of us that are interested in him are expecting a power forward we are looking at locking in a young center long term. He just turned 24 statistically between 24 and 28 29 are a players most productive years, so just entering prime.
He has been on a garbage team for a garbage organization his whole career but it shouldnt affect his performance?
If with a better environment and coaching and support no reason he couldnt be good middle six center. Something by next year with Backs gone we have to address regardless. We saw what losing zary did to our center depth its non existent. With the cap going up and a reasonable deal to be had i think its well wirth the risk. We dont need a middle six center? Ya absolutely we do.
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I wonder if Backlund will re-sign on a team-friendly deal to finish his career with one team. If he does, he can easily center the 4th line for a few years. Regardless, he may not at that point be a middle six center for us either way. But the Flames still have Zary, Kadri, and Frost and middle six pivots, and at that point, possibly Honzek, although it isn't clear yet whether he will end up in the middle or on the wing. So already at least three centers for the two middle lines, and possibly four, and the proposal is to add a fifth? Unless there is very clear evidence that Cozens is a top line center, the only thing he adds is a right hand shot and an overpriced contract. I might trade Frost for him, but I would be looking for a sweetener to swallow that bloated contract.
What the Flames really need is a center who is capable of playing on the top line. Unfortunatelly, I don't think that Cozens is that player.
You are correct that the system is scarily thin on centers, but at the club level, the addition of Frost and Zary will help a lot. In the next few drafts, the Flames really need to draft some centers with potential upside, much more than they need to draft any other position.