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The trade
Senators get: Forward Dylan Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert, second-round pick in 2026
Sabres get: Forward Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker
Corey Pronman: Dylan Cozens is an extremely talented player who has underperformed after signing his big extension. There are a lot of reasons to think the 2019 No. 7 pick will bounce back though. He’s a big right-shot center who skates and handles the puck very well, plays hard, and has shown he can score over the years. His hockey sense has always rubbed scouts the wrong way, and I don’t think he’s ever going to be a massive point producer. He is better than what he’s shown this season though, and I think he can be a legit first-line center in the NHL who can provide two-way value.
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Josh Norris is a very good all-around center. He’s a strong skater who competes hard off the puck and has legit offensive skills. He’s shown he can be an effective two-way center when healthy, with very good puck hands, vision and finishing abilities. I wouldn’t call him a dynamic offensive player by any means, and his health has been an issue. He’s a legit top-two line center though.
Jacob Bernard-Docker is a very competitive defenseman who skates well and can make a decent amount of stops. His puck play is mediocre at best, and with average size, he’s more of a depth defenseman than anything else.
I know Cozens is signed to a huge, long-term deal and there’s risk if he doesn’t return to form, but I’m surprised this is all Buffalo could get for a 24-year-old 6-foot-3 center who is two seasons removed from 31 goals and 68 points. Norris has been the better player this season, so I understand from that perspective how this could be viewed as an upgrade on Cozens, but I think the downside of Cozens is he’s roughly as good as Norris and there is far more bounce-back upside to him. I like this deal a lot for Ottawa, and for Buffalo it feels like they just sold low on a recently highly valuable asset.
Senators grade: A-
Sabres grade: C+
James Mirtle: The Senators have been shopping Josh Norris around the league hard for a while now, and in the struggling Sabres, they finally found a taker.
At a first, surface-level glance this is a trade of similar players: two young-ish second-line centers with strong pedigrees who have had a hard time matching 30-goal career years a few years back.
But a few key things that separate Norris and Cozens make this one a win for the Senators.
No. 1, Cozens is almost two years younger, having just turned 24 a few weeks ago. He’s also been far healthier, as he’s barely missed any games as a pro while Norris has been out 100-plus in just the past two seasons alone.
The even bigger red flag for Norris has been his inability to drive offense at even strength. Over the past three seasons, Cozens is a respectable 97th in five-on-five points per 60 (1.97), putting him ahead of players like Nazem Kadri and Brock Boeser despite not always having great wingers to play with in Buffalo.
Norris, meanwhile, has managed only 1.31 points per 60 in that span, putting him 369th – basically in bottom-six territory – despite playing significant minutes with Ottawa’s top players.
Norris is the better defensive player at this point, although how much of that is due to Cozens’ youth and the dire situations he’s been placed into in Buffalo — playing largely with very young players, especially this season — remains to be seen. If he can figure that piece of his game out in Ottawa, his ceiling rises dramatically.
Financially, there’s not a wide gap here, but what does exist favors the Sens. Both players have five years remaining on their deals, but Norris carries a $7.95 million AAV compared to $7.1 million for Cozens. Norris’ no-trade clause is also more restrictive (10 teams versus five) and has more years on it. And he’s owed more cash over the next five seasons given the contract structure, which matters for the Sens.
As for Bernard-Docker: The 24-year-old defenseman has averaged just 13 minutes a game this season, so consider him a throw-in more than anything that moves the needle. Gilbert, meanwhile, is an older rental defenseman who likely serves only as an injury fill-in.
Buffalo has been in the wilderness a long, long time, and they’re on the verge of missing the playoffs for an NHL record 14th consecutive season this year. While Cozens’ stock was down, the fact is, so was Norris’, and it’s clear which player has the bigger bounce-back potential. There’s also real outsize risk here on the injury front for Norris, plus Buffalo inexplicably adds in a second-round pick.
Unfortunately for Sabres fans, this deal looks like another miss.
Senators grade: A
Sabres grade: C-
(Photo of Dylan Cozens: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
