One of the most interesting trades at this year’s NHL trade deadline was the Ottawa Senators’ center ice swap with the Buffalo Sabres. Essentially, it was Josh Norris for Dylan Cozens, and for both teams, it marked the turning of a page on two young players who were once expected to be key parts of their organization’s future success.
And early on in their careers, both looked like they were on that path.
In 2021–22, Norris scored 35 goals and recorded 55 points in 66 games, which earned him a massive contract. In 2022-23, Cozens looked just as good, putting up 31 goals and 68 points in 81 games and that got him a big deal of his own.
But neither player has quite lived up to expectations. For Norris, the problem has been health, while Cozens has struggled with inconsistency.
So, in March, Senators GM Steve Staios and Sabres GM Kevyn Adams exchanged their underachievers, hoping a change of scenery could help both players reset.
In Buffalo, Norris delivered more of the same. He played three games for the Sabres before injuries got him yet again.
“Norris is dealing with an injury he brought with him from Ottawa,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff told the Buffalo media back in March. “He is working through it, but he won’t play until he is ready.”
He never was, and they shut him down for the season.
Meanwhile, Cozens arrived in Ottawa with 11 goals and 31 points in 61 Sabres games, but managed to find another gear after the trade, putting up 16 points in the final 21 games of the season. On the surface, it looks like Cozens is the better option, especially when factoring in Norris’s injury concerns.
But it's a small sample size, not enough to make any sweeping declarations. And this isn't just about outperforming Norris. Can Cozens return to being a 30-goal guy who flirts with 70 points? Whether it's Cozens or someone else, that’s the kind of production the Senators will need from their second-line center if they fancy themselves as Stanley Cup contenders.
Or will the same inconsistency that plagued Cozens in Buffalo return?
It’s always worth asking, in any trade, really: Why is this player available in the first place? Why did his former team decide he's expendable? If Cozens is the answer for Ottawa at second-line center, why wasn’t he the answer in Buffalo, a team desperate to end the longest playoff drought in the history of the NHL?
After the trade back in March, Ruff was asked in a Buffalo media scrum to describe what happened with Cozens that led to the trade.
"I think when you look at the start of the year, you know, he struggled to try to find his game early. I thought there was moments where he found his game, you know, the type of player that you… Even the Tampa game, I thought (he) played really well then. But just couldn't quite find his game.
"You know, I think maybe sometimes not being on that first power play hurt him a little bit on the offensive side. So I mean, there's a lot of things. But you know, we feel it's a good trade for both teams."
Statistically, Cozens got off to a strong start in Ottawa, but it’s far too early to label that as a turnaround. He’ll need to prove he can produce over the long haul and grind of a full 82-game season with the pressure of being on a team that's now expected to make the playoffs.
The good news for the Sens is they do have depth at center and a Plan B in Shane Pinto, who’d be thrilled to get a sniff of the power-play time Cozens was gifted upon arrival.
But relying on that Plan B could get complicated next summer. Pinto is a restricted free agent and currently makes $3.75 million. That's well below Cozens, who’s under contract for five more years at $7.1 million annually.
For now, the Senators are hoping the 6-foot-3, 207-pound center just temporarily lost his mojo from years of losing in Buffalo, and that the 24-year-old will thrive in Ottawa for the foreseeable future. They’d love nothing more than to ride the “Workhorse from Whitehorse” to a Stanley Cup someday.
By Steve Warne
Sens Nation Hockey
Image credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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