BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA 

Slava Kozlov said he never would have requested a trade. But knowing what he knows now, about 3 1/2 months since the Red Wings dealt him to Buffalo, he might have wanted to leave Detroit even earlier. 

Kozlov scored 18 and 20 goals the past two seasons, his lowest and second-lowest totals over a full season. He said he was "a little disappointed" with his ice time, especially in scoring situations, such as the power play. 

"I don't blame the coaches," Kozlov said Friday before going scoreless in the Sabres' 4-2 loss at Joe Louis Arena -- his first game against his former club. "They just didn't have room for me." 

The Wings have lots of stars, and Kozlov felt squeezed. That contributes to his opinion that the Wings will have trouble winning the Stanley Cup, because he doesn't know "how they're going to split the puck." 

The Sabres are shorter on stars, so Kozlov thinks he has an opportunity to succeed. Coach Lindy Ruff said he still is experimenting with Kozlov, and yet Kozlov already is getting much 
 more power-play time than he did with the Wings. 

His only goal came on a power play. 

Nevertheless, Kozlov still considers Hockeytown home. 

He never sold his house in suburban Detroit; he's renting in Buffalo. One reason, he said, is that this isn't a great time to sell. But another is that he came to Detroit from Russia as a teenager, and this is the only home he has known in North America. He spent 10 seasons here. 

After the trade, he spent the rest of the off-season here, and he plans to spend next off-season here, too.