NEWSLETTER
Lots of buzz around the Buffalo Sabres right now. They’re 0-7-3 in their last 10 games and their owner was reportedly meeting with the team on Monday. All around not ideal. The big name that’s been in the trade rumors recently is young center Dylan Cozens, and Blackhawks fans are expressing a lot of interest in him on the socials.
Cozens, who turns 24 in February, was the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He exploded on the scene when he scored 31 goals and posted 68 points in 81 games during the 2022-23 season. His production fell off last year (18 goals, 47 points in 79 games). He has 13 points in 31 games this season and is clearly in the doghouse in Buffalo.
Cozens averaged 17:14 per game last year. He took 1,146 faceoffs last year and won 45.6 percent of them. His faceoffs were evenly distributed to power play, even strength and penalty kill and across all three zones. He is averaging 17:36 per game this season and has taken a team-leading 492 faceoffs this season, winning 49.4 percent.
Is there something there to be interested in? Sure. The cost is going to be significant, however. Cozens is signed for six more years after this at a $7.1M cap hit. Not long ago, the Sabres (rightfully) thought the 6-foot-3 center was part of their future core.
Blackhawks center future
If the Blackhawks did make a play Cozens, we would need to have a conversation about the organization’s center depth in the intermediate term. Right now, the Blackhawks (in theory) have Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar as their top two centers. Obviously that could change; one of them might ultimately wind up on the wing. The question there would become which one would make the move. Neither is an easy conversation.
The Blackhawks have drafted heavily at center in recent years, so the trickle down conversation would also be relevant. Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene would figure to be two collegiate centers who are the closest to turning pro, but Sacha Boisvert has having a strong freshman season as well. Moore has spent plenty of time on the wing and might wind up there at the next level.
Chicago also has Dominic James playing very well at Minnesota-Duluth and he’s an excellent faceoff guy. He likely profiles more as a bottom-six center but he can absolutely fly and is putting up very good offensive numbers as the Bulldogs’ captain this season.
What about the cost?
The Sabres are in their window right now — in theory. They have a young NHL group they’re trying to build around, topped by two recent No. 1 overall picks on their blue line in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.
Adding Mattias Samuelsson to those two, the Sabres have their top three defensemen locked-up for three more years beyond this season. And those three defensemen are contributing more than $23.5M to the Sabres’ cap right now.
One would think the Sabres would want players who can help their NHL roster now (or at least soon) if they’re going to make a move involving a top-six center who’s still only 23. And the cost is likely going to be more significant than simply a Philip Kurashev-type player.
Because the Blackhawks have so many veteran players on their NHL roster right now on short-term deals, it’s hard to imagine the Sabres take on a rental (read: Taylor Hall) as the centerpiece in a trade for Cozens. We might be talking more about a package that starts with Lukas Reichel and might include young players like Colton Dach and/or one of the young defensemen as well.
The good news is the Blackhawks certainly have draft capital if a first or second-round pick is part of the ask. But I wouldn’t sprint to give up a top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft at this point.
