Well assuming Stillman has his own role, I guess let Regula try and step in for Z’s.
Z ended up +1 for the season playing mainly even strength minutes. At worst you can say he was the d equivalent of Kampf in that he didn't drive o play. He was not nearly the Hawks worst d man (Keith and de Haan were). Regula and Stillman are not proven to be equivalent to Z. Who is going to replace big Z's hit numbers? Z may not have been as sharp as he was at the beginning of the season, and he may not be an exceptional d man, but he was not a source of Hawk's problems. If Hawks pmd play better next year, and assuming Z is still with the team, he will look better. In case you haven't noticed, although Z makes the occasional gaffe, TEAMS SIMPLY DON'T RUN THEIR OFFENSES THROUGH HIM.
There are no NHL proven replacements for Z on the roster right now, so unless the Hawks trade for a big D like Z, or Stillman proves he can handle top 4 responsibility, the Hawks will be worse next year because their pmd will get pushed around by other teams. Replacing a replacement level d man like Z with below replacement level scrubs is not improvement.
