Report: Teams Showing Trade Interest in Sabres Forward

The Buffalo Sabres are starting to get calls regarding one of their top young forwards.

Dec 9, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens (24) looks to make a pass during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The Buffalo Sabres were supposed to take huge strides in the 2024-25 season, but through 29 games, they are once again near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. There is plenty of skill on the Sabres’ roster, but nothing has been going right for them.

Currently on an eight-game winless streak and with struggles mounting other teams around the NHL are getting ready to strip the Sabres for spare parts. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, teams have started to call about forward Dylan Cozens.

“This would terrify me if I were the Sabres, vultures circling overhead while player and team struggle,” Friedman writes in 32 Thoughts. “Right-shot center, 23 years old, two years removed from a 30-goal season.”

Cozens is in the second year of a seven-year deal that earns him $7.1 million against the salary cap. In 29 games, he has just six goals and seven assists for 13 total points.

That 30-goal season Friedman is talking about came in 2022-23 when Cozens potted 31 in 81 games played. He followed that up with 18 last year and is on pace for just 17 this year.

Regardless of the decrease in production, teams have an interest in Cozens and wouldn’t mind taking him from Buffalo if the Sabres are forced to start selling players.

“I would be very, very careful with this because he’s legitimately wanted.”

The Sabres aren’t quite in hot water, but they’ll need to really find a better rhythm to prop themselves up for the second half of the season. They’re six points out of a playoff spot but just one up from the Montreal Canadiens who sit dead last in the East.

Cozens is a name that should help the cause, too. He’s only ever played for the Sabres and could be a crucial piece if they figure out how to kick their losing culture.

In 309 career games played, Cozens has scored 72 goals and 107 assists for 179 total points. Teams are circling and the Sabres need to prove there is still some life in them.

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