I honestly don't think that bottom 6 is bad. If we had one more middle 6 winger to push Bastian to a 13th forward role it'd be fine.
Haula is good, Noesen is good, Lazar is good for their roles. Cotter has underlyings that point to a little upside, and Foote is a mystery box we need to open at some point. Those guys won't make the bottom 6 a massive advantage, but they won't drag you down either. Long as Mercer rebounds and the D/goaltending fixes work out, that top 6 is more than enough to carry them.
Bastian was bad last year, though, and really shouldn't be seeing the ice 82 games a year. I'm fine to rotate him in for rest or injuries, but he shouldn't be a staple unless he looks a lot more like 2023 Bastian than 2024 Bastian.
And then so what we need is a dumpster diving middle 6 winger, or maybe try and snag a guy in a nice little trade. I'm sure somebody somewhere is willing to move off a guy for a pick, they don't have a ton of value. Maybe you get the Blues to retain on Saad, maybe the Avs actually move off Colton, maybe you just sign Sprong and live with the warts because you're just gonna play him next to Lazar.
I think you have options, and i'm sure fitz has a plan to explore them.