Was Cozens the problem?

[Zman5778]

So no, Cozens was not the problem. The team still sucks, Reimer has just been playing lights out for the past two weeks. If UPL starts every game we're probably 5-8 instead of 8-5.

Yeah. Reimer flat-out stole the Winnipeg game and basically stole Ottawa game #3.

And last night, he made a few 10-star saves to keep us ahead by 2. If Ottawa creeps to within 1, who knows what happens.

We've been capitalizing on pretty literally EVERY good chance we're getting (and some that aren't good chances) and Reimer is stealing points.

 

[TageGod]

They are 9-4 since the deadline and Cozens had that nice assist on Krebs goal yesterday.

Partially, yes. His 2C role was way too important and he was a massive negative in production and defense coverage.

 

[Ace]

He sure as shit wasn’t the answer

 

[SundherDome]

I'll play devil's advocate here. I think he was the problem but not by a wide margin.

Reason why:
-The play constantly died on his stick. Whether it was blind passes, trying to go 1v3 or just an inability to win board battles. You could see his teammates sometimes just give up knowing what the outcome was
- Dahlin noted after Krebs stood up for Kulich, the locker room felt different. This was a little over a week after the trade.
- touching on the above, the guys look more engaged mentally and physically as well.
- I strongly believe Adams made the trade when he did because Cozens became a malcontent and that shit was spreading throughout the locker room. It would make sense to move Dylan at the draft where there is a much larger swath of suitors and the return might have been a little better.


Just seems like some dots connecting to paint a bigger picture that maybe he was a leading problem and seeing the turn around in play (Hi, Mattias!!) might be linked.

 

[kirby11]

Cozens' struggles speak to a larger Pegula/Adams management failure, which is that there are almost never any backup/failsafe plans within roster-building to account for non-linear development paths and/or give guys who are struggling (whether it be with on-ice or off-ice stuff, returning from injury, etc.) a chance to find their game in lower pressure roles. See having Olofsson/Quinn in the top 6 for extended periods of time with no one else really available to fill in, sticking Joki next to Power and just assuming he could be a top 4 guy despite mountains of evidence showing they sucked as a pair, everyone in the org. penciling in Levi as the unquestioned NHL starter last year, etc.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I don't think Cozens was THE problem and a lot of people have written why on this thread. Way bigger issues on the team and in the organization.

I do think Cozens was part of the young "vibes" core. The reality of him being there one moment and gone the next may have hit home with some of the other younger players. Eg: "I could be next."

 

[TehDoak]

This team tends to thrive in zero pressure environments, which they are in post deadline.

 

[old kummelweck]

Dayum people have short memories. They do this every year.

I think maybe one could argue Cozens had a negative impact on individual lines, but this team always plays better when the pressure is off.

 

[Jimmybarndoor2]

Have no optimism for next year based on their recent play. None

It would be nice but late season runs happened before with no playoff pressure

They looked good last nights but many of the recent games are losses without Reimers recent play. He’s the story

Defensive scheme/execution is horrible. That needs to change. Just awful. When Reimer is the clear cut number 1, what happens next year?

Can’t expect any goalie to do what Reimer has with the overwhelming number of defensive giveaways. There seem to be at least 5 and as many as 10 in a game.

Can’t expect any goalie to do what Reimer has done when the Sabres are trapped in their own end and the other team is set up for shooting practice with shot after shot.

they are winning but I am not sure that they deserve it. It’s not sustainable until they drastically improve their defence

 

[Butt Ox]

Cozens was on the bench, not behind it.

 

[slip]

We got 99 problems and Cozens was just one.

 

[SabresFanNorthPortFL]

It’s really messed up what Pegs/Adams have done….Cozens should be on a $4/5 per bridge deal, which would come with limited pressure as a team leader….AND….keep him motivated for his next contract.

Management failure.

Same goes with Power.


Trading Cozens is gonna suck once he hits his prime.

 

[joshjull]

Benson getting on the top line was huge so in a way yes. Im not sure if benson gets a chance if Cozens is still on this team.

JBD over bryson and Joki is pretty big too.

Dahlin being hurt then injured throughout the season seems vitally important

I think KA thought bringing over 2/3rds of the Capitals defensive shutdown line was going to help carry the defensive burden. When that backfired and Greenway being oft injured, we typically had 6 forwards who were a tire fire in their own zone in the top 9.

No, thats not it.

We struggled this season because for the 2nd season in a row our top 6 forwards+top 4 dmen weren’t close to good enough.

Specific to the forwards, a big part of that was a terrible 2nd line made up of Benson/Cozens/Quinn. Two players underperforming expectations and a kid in over his head. We also had Tage not being that effective at center leading to an inconsistent top line.

We’ve since had a complete change of our top 6 centers along with McLeod playing a prominent role when needed.

But none of this means anything until the do it when it matters and that won’t happen again until next season. Right now we’re seeing wins during garbage time at the end of the season with nothing at stake.

 

[Panthaz89]

I think Quinn being one of the worst players in the league and then suddenly reverting has more to do with the run than Cozens..

 

[Dreakon13]

There are bigger fish to fry in the organization than Cozens, and Reimer is the main reason for this little hot streak. Let even a few of those saves in, and they go back to being the same sad sacks they've always been and lose most of those games.

That being said, McLeod is being the player JJ and Quinn needed Cozens to be, and that matters.

 

[VaporTrail]

Naw...it's a culture problem.

 

[oldgoalie]

It’s also a hockey IQ problem.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

It’s also a hockey IQ problem.

I think that was really exacerbated by the pressure he put on himself to be a goal scorer. Once he said he wanted to hit 40, it was like he became dumb as a bag of rocks.

 

[Fearnot]

 

[debaser66]

Somehow feel for the guy even tough I am glad he is gone.
Wasn't actually put in a position to succeed like many of the other young players.
Asked too much at a young age, set in a position to fail.
No leaders or players to guide them properly augmented by a flawed roster construction.
He deserved the anger in a way because he was put in a position by the GM which he could not handle but he wasn't certainly "the problem".
Only time will tell if his case is reversible and he becomes an actual player true to his potential or there just wasn't enough in there from the start to succeed in this league as a top6 performer.

 

[joshjull]

I brought this from the roster speculation thread for the OP and others. Hope you don’t mind @Jim Bob

We’ve haven’t really become a team playing in a way that would sustain success. Probably shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves blaming anyone for our past failures and giving their removal credit for our recent “success”.

 

[Jim Bob]

I brought this from the roster speculation thread for the OP and others. Hope you don’t mind @Jim Bob

We’ve haven’t really become a team playing in a way that would sustain success. Probably shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves blaming anyone for our past failures and giving their removal credit for our recent “success”.

You mean that we shouldn't build massive takes around small sample sizes of good (or bad) play?

This is a shocking hot take!

 

[Duddy]

Yes, from now on it's cup after cup after cup after cup. Sorry NHL, should've done something when you saw the trade call fax.

 

[GrierIsGod123]

I think they just needed competent play from the 2C position and he simply wasn't able to provide that when there was pressure to win. I truly think it's between his ears. He get so far into his head once he signed the contract that he simply couldn't just play when the games meant something. I do think there was an element to Cozens' game that hurt the vibes of the team. Someone mentioned upthread how plays would die on his stick or he'd skate pucks into trouble. Right now, they don't have anyone that is playing like that and it shows.

McLeod being a competent and productive Center with a defensive presence has stabilized that line and in turn helped Jack Quinn be productive again. Benson is a great presence for the top line mainly because he's one of our few wingers with playmaking ability, hockey IQ and defensive positioning. Add that to Krebs playing a bit better/producing and getting great goaltending and it's easy to see why they're winning. I'm not convinced that we'd be better or worse with Cozens in the lineup right now, as the pressure is completely off these guys and they're finishing extremely well at the moment. He tends to produce in the types of games we've seen lately. But, seeing less plays simply die and less centermen lost in their own end may just be the little differences between winning and losing.

I'd bet if they swapped McLeod and Cozens earlier in the year, we'd be in a much better spot. They also needed to lessen UPL's load far earlier as well. He's as much to blame as anyone for their struggles, especially in clutch moments.

 

[Tatanka]

When the homeowner tells the carpenter to pound nails with a screwdriver it's not the screwdriver's fault.