I'm torn. On the one hand, I get it. If they're smart (which, of course, they're not, so who tf knows what they'll do), they'll stick Norris between Tage and Tuch. That's a decent first line you can give heavy minutes to in all situations. Then, you get a better checking line center for the 4th line so you can actually use it as a line that eats tough matchups and tilts the ice for you. If you do those 2 things, you can give the kids in your middle-6 much lighter minutes, both in terms of volume and competition level, so they can get back to developing normally. They'll even have a couple bid bodied veteran wingers there to help bring them along.
On the minus side, I just get big "wrong kid died" vibes from this. Would they not take Stutzle's countryman Peterka instead? Or local boy Quinn? You could always not re-sign Zucker to open up the room, and let Cozens fill his role as "middle 6 gritty winger with some skill" instead. I ask because I really think Cozens is going to be a much better player than both of those guys a year from now. I think he's going to blow up with a new team that lets him move to wing and develop into the power forward he was always meant to become.
So, my initial reaction is that I'm torn.
