Trade brewing between Red Wings and Sabres?
Could this deal get done soon? Get the full details below:
Recent talks have hinted at the possibility of the Buffalo Sabres moving top forward Dylan Cozens by the March 7 trade deadline. While he is likely to get a lot of interest on the market, the Detroit Red Wings are believed to be invested suitors and Ansar Khan of MLive speculates that general manager Steve Yzerman could make an offer to the Sabres.
The Sabres are reportedly seeking a player in return who can help their roster now in the return, instead of draft picks and prospects. Which is a good thing for the Red Wings seeing that Khan doubts Yzerman would be willing to part with Marco Kasper or Simon Edvinsson.
Khan writes:
“Cozens, who turned 24 this past Sunday, would fill the Red Wings’ troublesome second-line center spot with his skills and offensive upside. At least they hope he would.
“That’s what they signed Andrew Copp for in 2022 (five years at an average annual value of $5.625 million). The following summer they signed J.T. Compher (five years, $5.1 million), hoping he’d provide the offense Copp hasn’t.”
The second-line center role has been hard to fill in Detroit and Cozens could definitely get inserted there.
However, Detroit isn’t the only team eyeing the Sabres’ forward. The Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames are also believed to be looking closely at the 2017 seventh overall pick.
The Sabres are currently last place in the East with a record of 22-27-5 and 12 points back of the Lightning, who occupy the last wild card spot. Their status in the playoff frame ahead of the March 7 deadline has a lot of pundits thinking that they could be sellers and perhaps Cozens will be on the move, bringing a significant return to Buffalo.
Cozens has been in Buffalo for five seasons and has seen career highs like his 68 point campaign in the 2022-23 season. It’s been harder lately as the 23-year-old centre has fallen more into the range of a mostly 40-point producer, but he’s managed to collect 11 goals and 27 points in 54 games so far this season amid the Sabres’ struggles.
