brian_griffin
"Eric Cartman?"
They didn't need a bona-fide 2C, just a bridge / fill-in better than Sobotka, until Mittelstadt could hold his own, regardless of how the 2nd and 3rd lines were deployed / split TOI.It would have been nice to get a midstream 2C, but I don't view it as plausible.
Mittelstadt is the long-term 2C. The point is to not lose the shot at the playoffs this season because of unwillingness for a short-term help / buffer. Sabres don't necessarily need to find a long-term 2C.
Anisimov contract is not much more expensive than Berglunds, worth 0.5ppg for Chicago. I've always liked Anisimov when he was younger, regardless of whether at wing or center. Decent board play / puck battles. Of course, he also has a modified NTC, so who knows if he could have shaken loose.
Does Marcus Kruger return to Chicago next year?
Spooner and Gagner aren't much more expensive than Sobotka. Tough to say the extent either would be an improvement, but hey, could they have been worse?