Sabres Trade Dylan Cozens/Dennis Gilbert and 2026 2nd Round Pick to Ottawa for Josh Norris and Bernard Docker

[eman]

2 hours ago, EM88 said:

Cozens, for his career, including his 31 goal season, scores 18 goals per 82 games and shoots 9.9%

Norris, for his career, including his 35 goal season, scores 31 goals per 82 games, and shoots 17.9%

and the big one: We weren't winning with Cozens in the lineup so this trade doesn't bother me one bit. Hopefully more to come!

[rickshaw]

I still can’t get over how both tsn and sportsnet, more so tsn, were talking how cozens is gonna take the fighting over and how he’s so big and tough. No talk of how he watched his captain getting punched in the head. 

[Thorner]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I am pretty surprised that so many here don't like the trade when most here felt that Cozens leaving in any capacity is addition by subtraction.  

Whenever we played Ottawa Norris always stuck out to me as a good player, and a dangerous player.  I was not aware of his injury history. 

Looking at the stats Norris, like Cozens, does not appear to be a playmaker but he is a better scorer/shooter than Cozens.  There is a very reasonable chance that he is a better overall 2C than Cozens was. 

Gilbert for Docker  - Docker has more upside and is a RHD which are in short supply on our roster.   If he can be a steady 5/6 instead of Gilbert as a 6/7 that is a win.   Gilbert provides muscle that is needed and that role will need to be replaced in the off season, preferable with an everyday player.  

The 2nd rounder is not a big deal to me, typical Sabres overpay tax I guess.  I am willing to let it go to move on from the Cozens contract and the Cozens noise which has been a distraction.  

I truly wish Cozens well.  I am disappointed that he didn't turn out for Buffalo because I thought we were getting a skilled, big, tough Canadian kid from the Yukon.  The Sabres development of Cozens may turn out to be a case of too much too soon.  It won't surprise me to see him get his head straight and fix his game. 

 

Losing cozens isn’t actually addition by subtraction. If you legitimately are asking this question, put yourself into the minds of those showing a lack of enthusiasm:

the GM who made the deal JUST SIGNED THE GUY he traded away, to a 7 year deal, either contributing to the player’s looming futility or drastically missing on his evaluation or both.

The same GM who created the “addition by subtraction” 50 million dollar monstrosity is supposed to be allowed to trade said player for their fix? At the very least benefit of the doubt may be excused in the interim 

- - - 

Adams should be fired, not making trades. We are of course still discussing the merits of the deal but that’s going to be a dark cloud of context irremovable from a balanced discussion 

Edited Friday at 06:26 PM by Thorner

[...]

15 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Im not surprised I guess, and I love Benson, but people seem to ignore how little offence he generates. Traffic isn’t his issue at all. It’s open ice and his inability to utilize it to create and finish.

He is never going to be an open-ice wizard. That's what Cozens was supposed to be. We have at least three other players for that, maybe four with Norris. Benson will, however, *take* *the* *puck* *to* *the* *net*, which seems to confuse the other players who either pass too much to the perimeter or take a lot of dumb shots. Benson needs feeds.

[LGR4GM]

21 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I worry about Cozens’ upside and Norris’ injuries coming back to haunt us. I don’t think Docker is worth a 2nd any more than Malenstyn was. This seems like an iffy trade from an asset value point of view.

In terms of on-ice play this year, no player has hurt us as much as Cozens. I will be very sad if Norris isn’t an immediate improvement in the 2C role. Bernard-Docker appears to fill a need. In terms of getting better now, I see it.

What am I missing here ^^^?

Im not surprised I guess, and I love Benson, but people seem to ignore how little offence he generates. Traffic isn’t his issue at all. It’s open ice and his inability to utilize it to create and finish.

Benson generates offense, he just plays with ppl who do nothing with it. If you mean him shooting when in open ice, there I would agree his shot needs improvements. 

[Indabuff]

2 hours ago, rickshaw said:

Cozens is a good kid but let’s be real, his issues are between the ears and nothing points to that ever changing. 

 Dude's gonna light it up now.

[Pimlach]

3 minutes ago, Thorner said:

Losing cozens isn’t actually addition by subtraction. If you legitimately are asking this question, put yourself into the minds of those showing a lack of enthusiasm:

the GM who made the deal JUST SIGNED THE GUY he traded away, to a 7 year deal, either contributing to the player’s looming futility or drastically missing on his evaluation or both.

The same GM who created the “addition by subtraction” 50 million dollar monstrosity is supposed to be allowed to trade said player for their fix? At the very least benefit of the doubt may be excused in the interim 

Yes, I agree. 

Which is why I closed my comment by saying Cozens may end up getting fixed and become a good player.  I would have preferred Adams do nothing and let the better GM fix the roster.  

[bunomatic]

Don’t like that the main piece coming back has questions about his health. Bad shoulder, sign me up-Kevin Adams

[DarthEbriate]

2 minutes ago, rickshaw said:

I still can’t get over how both tsn and sportsnet, more so tsn, were talking how cozens is gonna take the fighting over and how he’s so big and tough. No talk of how he watched his captain getting punched in the head. 

Or of his actual fighting prowess. Per hockeyfights.com, Cozens has 5 fights since the start of the 2022-23 season (not exactly an enforcer)

3/19/2023 Trent Frederic. An even fight 45% Cozens, 45% Frederic, 9% Draw.  Perfectly even.

11/3/2023 Garnet Hathaway. Ooops! 91 % Hathaway. 0 draws. Um... some drunken homers voted for Cozens.

4/7/2024 Jeff Petry. Cozens gets Petry offbalance and they topple. 1 punch thrown as they fell.  50% draw, 44% Cozens, 6% Petry.

12/14/2024 Martin Fehervary. 50% Fehervary, 43% draw, 7% Cozens. Decisive loss.

2/27/2025 Jesper Kotkaniemi. The opening faceoff scrap in Carolina that energized a struggling Canes roster for their home game. 81% Kotkaniemi, 9% draw, 9% Cozens. You got your ass kicked by Jesper Kotkaniemi???

 

He's a lover workhorse, not a fighter.

[Mango]

35 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Could help change the culture. Norris could bring things that Cozens did not both in the room and on the ice. I am at least willing to see how it plays out. 

This is fair. I'm a bit snakebitten by Adams at this point that it's hard to "let things play out".

This team needs a GM to do things that are definitively good sometimes. Where as Adams tenure has been definitively bad. Adams leash is unbelievably short for me. I'm surprised he's still allowed to make trades.

[HoosierDaddy]

Fans: This guy sucks! Trade him right now!

Same fans: That's all we got?

[Crusader1969]

54 minutes ago, Weave said:

On the Blueskys:

Peterka-Kulich-Thompson
Zucker-Norris-Tuch
Greenway-McLeod-Quinn
Malenstyn-Krebs-Lafferty/Benson
 

I don’t hate this yet.

I love Kulich and think he has real upside but just shouldn't be 1C at 20 years of age IMHO

Though he is really far ahead of the curve, so maybe he proves me wrong 

[darksabre]

I think what I like most about this trade is simply that it removes a guy from the team whose face I am tired of seeing and name I am tired of hearing.

There are a lot of guys on this team that fit into that boat. 

Just a really unlikable group (with a few exceptions).

[mjd1001]

Just now, Crusader1969 said:

I love Kulich and think he has real upside but just shouldn't be 1C at 20 years of age IMHO

Though he is really far ahead of the curve, so maybe he proves me wrong 

I wonder if the plan for most of the rest of the season will be for Norris to get those top line Center minutes....just needs a few games to get up to speed with the system?

[...]

1 minute ago, bunomatic said:

Don’t like that the main piece coming back has questions about his health. Bad shoulder, sign me up-Kevin Adams

Not saying the concern isn't valid, however we shipped out Eichel because of questions about his health. A lot of players regain their durability over time. Then there's Muel and Greenway.

[Crusader1969]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Benson generates offense, he just plays with ppl who do nothing with it. If you mean him shooting when in open ice, there I would agree his shot needs improvements. 

Benson was a point producer in the WHL, when does it translate to the NHL?  Is hoping for a big increase from him next season too optimistic? 

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

6 minutes ago, ... said:

Nope. I'm with you. Opens up room for someone else. Cozens is a super-soft, too in-his-own-head player. Has the tools, not the brain or constitution. I don't know the player coming back, but, if any of the analytics and anecdotes posted in this thread mean anything, we are at least shaking up the team culture if the remaining change is a net-zero.

The headcase part of the Cozen conundrum is a huge piece, at least from my perspective. I always try to take note of the players that play well in (more) meaningful games against better teams. That was almost never Cozens. He seemed to feast when the team was feasting in high-scoring affairs or getting some secondary PP assists. His breakout year was a lot of him passing to Dahlin, then over to Thompson for a PP goal or Quinn/Peterka driving the 2nd line. He's hardly ever the primary play driver on big goals, like you see with a Tuch or Peterka (Quinn a few years ago) for instance.

If you can remember back to when Mitts was still here, he seemed to play well in those games. I think of the OT winner on RJ's last call and a lot of scoring during that final playoff push that missed by one point. Cozens was a ghost during those games. I started turning on him late that year as he completely vanished down the stretch and the bad play persisted for two more seasons. He has his best games after we're all but eliminated, just look at the last few games last season. I just don't think he's a big time player and while he may have another 60 point year in him, he'll never be worth that contract based on his overall play.

[Peter]

1 minute ago, HoosierDaddy said:

Fans: This guy sucks! Trade him right now!

Same fans: That's all we got?

This 👆

[Crusader1969]

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

I wonder if the plan for most of the rest of the season will be for Norris to get those top line Center minutes....just needs a few games to get up to speed with the system?

It will be interesting to see if Tage and Norris can mesh

[mjd1001]

Just now, Crusader1969 said:

It will be interesting to see if Tage and Norris can mesh

Can't totally rule out the chance Tage moves back to center and Kulich gets some time at wing.  I don't think that looks likely now, but you never know.

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

Just now, Crusader1969 said:

It will be interesting to see if Tage and Norris can mesh

Personally I'd start them on separate lines. Let Tage and Peterka drive L1 and have Kulich worry about defense. Try Norris with Tuch and maybe Quinn.

 

[...]

1 minute ago, BlowLeafsBlow123 said:

The headcase part of the Cozen conundrum is a huge piece, at least from my perspective. I always try to take note of the players that play well in (more) meaningful games against better teams. That was almost never Cozens. He seemed to feast when the team was feasting in high-scoring affairs or getting some secondary PP assists. His breakout year was a lot of him passing to Dahlin, then over to Thompson for a PP goal or Quinn/Peterka driving the 2nd line. He's hardly ever the primary play driver on big goals, like you see with a Tuch or Peterka (Quinn a few years ago) for instance.

If you can remember back to when Mitts was still here, he seemed to play well in those games. I think of the OT winner on RJ's last call and a lot of scoring during that final playoff push that missed by one point. Cozens was a ghost during those games. I started turning on him late that year as he completely vanished down the stretch and the bad play persisted for two more seasons. He has his best games after we're all but eliminated, just look at the last few games last season. I just don't think he's a big time player and while he may have another 60 point year in him, he'll never be worth that contract based on his overall play.

By this reckoning, and I think you're spot on, Ottawa got fleeced. Their sports psychologist better be damn good if they're going to not regret this trade.

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

Can't totally rule out the chance Tage moves back to center and Kulich gets some time at wing.  I don't think that looks likely now, but you never know.

I think Lindy likes Kulich's defensive game and letting the other two drive the offensive play.

[DarthEbriate]

14 minutes ago, Thorner said:

Adams should be fired, not making trades. We are of course still discussing the merits of the deal but that’s going to be a dark cloud of context irremovable from a balanced discussion 

^This

Because in a vacuum, I'm happy with what he's done in the last 72 hours. Greenway and Zucker for 2 more years with a slight overpay on one and a slight underpay on the other. If Greenway is healthy, this gets the "core" and Power two more years into their prime with real veterans to guide them.

Adding a 2C (Norris) while removing a middle 6 winger (Cozens). This is good. And it hopefully means McLeod gets more all-around minutes instead of getting stuck on the 4th line.

Removing Gilbert is a minor problem, but he's a 7/8, no biggie. And bringing in a defensive-first D-man RHD to balance out one of the pairs. That's a net positive.

 

But still Adams shouldn't be in this gig for all the years of ineptitude before it (and likely to follow).

Edited Friday at 06:38 PM by DarthEbriate

[Thorner]

An interesting thing proposed by I think our good Brawndo was that Adams has been shopping Cozens since summer

so there’s a bit of a Rorschach test there - 

adams correctly foretold the cozens dip?

Adams putting DC on the block contributed to his lack of performance?