In the month left before the trade deadline, you can expect plenty of insider reports about which team is interested in which players and on Wednesday, Kevin Weekes reported the Montreal Canadiens are amongst the teams interested in Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens.
According to Weeks, there are plenty of interest for the soon to be 24-year-old pivot, with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings all being in the running. A former seventh-overall pick, Cozens is currently playing the second of a seven-year deal with a $7.1 M cap hit and is having an underwhelming season to say the least.
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In 53 games, the Whitehorse, Yukon native has been limited to 10 goals and 16 assists, racked up 49 penalty minutes and has a minus-17 rating. When he signed his contract extension in February 2023, he was on his way to a 68-point season. Last campaign, he could only manage 47 points and he’s now on pace for a 40-point output in 82 games.
Acquiring him would be a sizeable risk for Kent Hughes who hasn’t been shy of trading for young players who fell out of favour since he took over in Montreal. He acquired Kirby Dach at the 2022 draft and Alex Newhook on the eve of the 2023 draft, and so far, they haven’t exactly panned out. In 53 games this season, the former has 21 points while the latter only has 16, both below Cozens’ current production.
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The difference is however that Hughes signed them both to “show me” deals and not long-term contracts. Dach has one year left on a contract that pays him $3,362,500 before becoming an RFA while Newhook still has two years left on a deal that has a $2,900,000 cap hit before also reaching RFA status. Unless they improve significantly, they shouldn’t be expected to be in the Canadiens’ top-six long term.
Could Cozens be the solution for the Canadiens? Would a new beginning away from Buffalo do him good? Enough so that he can produce in accordance with his earning and the price a team would have to pay to acquire him?
Make no mistake, even though he’s not producing right now, the Sabres won’t be giving him away, especially not to a divisional rival…
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