The Buffalo Sabres made a splash ahead of the NHL's trade deadline Friday, sending forward Dylan Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round draft choice to the Ottawa Senators for forward Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, the teams announced.
Cozens, 23, is a dynamic scoring center but has lacked consistency in his short career to date. He's just two seasons removed from a 31-goal campaign that earned him a seven-year, $49.7 million contract. The forward followed that up with just 18 goals and 47 points last year, and Cozens has just 31 points through 61 games this season. He also has been prone to defensive issues coupled with unreliable production.
Through the growing pains, Buffalo was determined to give Cozens -- the club's seventh overall pick in 2019 -- due time to find his footing. The fact the Sabres are moving on now might indicate an even larger changing of the guard from their current core.
In Ottawa, Cozens can be a durable first- or second-line skater and will have a clean slate with the team's young core primed to take another step toward putting the Senators back in playoff contention.
Buffalo restocks now with Norris, a speedy center with greater two-way potential and playmaking ability than he has shown consistently in Ottawa. The 25-year-old is having one of his best seasons so far, gathering 20 goals and 33 points in 53 games. He should provide the Sabres with middle-six depth down the middle and add to their stable of talented rising stars. And Buffalo will have Norris in-house for years to come -- he's in the third season of an eight-year deal carrying a massive $7.95 million cap hit.
The lingering concern with Norris, though, is his health. He has had three left shoulder surgeries that limited his availability to just 58 games from 2022 to 2024. He also suffered a mid-body injury already this season that held him out of Ottawa's lineup for nearly a month.
Bernard-Docker, in turn, is another depth option for Buffalo's back end, bringing a solid stay-at-home mentality.
Buffalo was busy before finalizing the Cozens deal, as well -- the Sabres also inked veteran forward Jason Zucker to a two-year, $9.5 million extension.Cozens has been in trade discussions pretty much all season, as teams coveted the 6-foot-3 "Workhorse from Whitehorse." He's 24 years old and this is the second year of a seven-year contract extension he signed with the Sabres that carries a $7.1 million average annual value.
Ottawa is trading for potential here, but with some proof of concept: Cozens is two seasons removed from 31 goals and 37 assists in 81 games -- a season during which, perhaps not coincidentally, he signed his $49.7 million extension. He has failed to replicate that over the past two seasons, with just 18 goals in 79 games in 2023-24 and 11 goals in 61 games so far this season, where he's shooting a putrid 7.9%.
His defensive play has really trended in the wrong direction, too: Cozens is second to last among Sabres players in even-strength defense goals above average, per Evolving Hockey. He's an average skater, which impacts his overall game too.
But the glimpses are important. Cozens showed so much potential in 2022-23. He had moments over the next two seasons that have recalled that dominance. There's something there that the Senators can unlock, with Cozens' ceiling being a solid No. 2 center worth the contractual investment. But we haven't seen that guy in two seasons.
What we have seen, and this is important: Cozens playing the majority of his team's games. He missed seven games over the course of three seasons and hasn't missed one yet this season. That's the sharpest contrast with Norris, a talented player who simply can't stay in the lineup.
Gilbert is a journeyman through six NHL seasons, playing for Chicago, Colorado, Calgary and then Buffalo for 25 games this season. A clear downgrade from Bernard-Docker as far as age, but pretty much a wash as depth defensemen.
What pushes this grade up a bit for Ottawa is the second-round pick from the Sabres in 2026. It's a deep draft and given Buffalo's recent fortunes, that might end up being like a low first-rounder.
Grade: B+
The Sabres will probably get crushed for doing this trade because Cozens is younger, cheaper and has certainly stayed in the lineup more than Norris. But I'll submit my minority report: I understand what GM Kevyn Adams did here and I don't mind it.
Buffalo hasn't been in the Stanley Cup playoffs since "Fast 5" was in theaters. (To put that in context, the 11th "Fast and the Furious" movie is scheduled for 2026.) The past few seasons of this unwavering drought have seen the Sabres double down on the same collection of young players who haven't shown significant growth. It was time for Adams to start turning a few of his "maybes" into established NHL players, and he has done that with Norris.
Like Cozens, Norris has one season of fulfilled promise: 35 goals and 20 assists in 66 games back in 2021-22 with the Senators. His past two seasons have been at two points for every 60 minutes of play on average. He has been over that average four times in his career, including this season with 20 goals and 13 assists in 53 games. There's no question he's a more established NHL-caliber center than Cozens at this point in their careers.
But he's older, turning 26 in May. While both Cozens and Norris have contracts that expire in 2030, Norris has a higher cap number ($7.95 million AAV). And as has been noted a few times here, Norris has missed significant time in each of the past four seasons.
The Sabres are already selling low on Cozens' contract, and the wager here from Adams is that his value might only decrease if he doesn't recapture the magic of that breakout season. If Cozens struggles for a third season offensively -- and this might be Buffalo acknowledging that's likely, given its own trajectory -- then he becomes a disappointment with a fat contract. Trading him now for an established NHL player is the kind of trade he should be making to get the Sabres back to the postseason.
We just wish it wasn't for someone made of porcelain.
Giving up the second-rounder in this deal is just acknowledgement that Norris is the better player.
Bernard-Docker, 24, had been on long-term injured reserve and is a pending restricted free agent. He's a depth defenseman in his fifth NHL season, playing just over 13 minutes a night in 25 games.
As much as we support Adams turning young players into established ones, we also have to acknowledge the concerns of Sabres fans that every talented player who leaves Buffalo -- Sam Reinhart, Ryan O'Reilly, Jack Eichel -- finds instant success in his next stop. Perhaps Cozens will be the exception. -- Wyshynski
March 6: Avs land Nelson in overnight blockbuster
The need to find a second-line center led the Colorado Avalanche to Brock Nelson, the player considered to be the top center available before Friday's deadline.
Nelson and prospect forward William Dufour were traded to the Avalanche, with the New York Islanders receiving defenseman Oliver Kylington, prospect forward Calum Ritchie, a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick and a conditional 2028 third-round pick. The Islanders retained 50% of Nelson's salary, and immediately traded Kylington to the Anaheim Ducks in a separate deal for future considerations.
If Colorado's 2026 draft pick is transferred to the Philadelphia Flyers subject to terms of a previous trade, or it is not transferred and is in the top 10 of the 2026 draft, Colorado will send its 2027 first-round pick to New York. The Avalanche sent that lottery-protected pick to Philadelphia in acquiring defenseman Sean Walker last season.
How did both front offices fare in one of the biggest trades before the deadline?
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