Folks, by all accounts, it’s kinda quiet on the trade front for the Calgary Flames.
A year ago, the club had a lot of irons in the fire trade-wise – and that was more a product of having so many pending unrestricted free agents at the same time than anything else. As a result, the Flames were one of the National Hockey League’s noisiest teams, with media appearances by insider types almost always generating some type of trade chatter regarding the club.
Now?
The 2024-25 Flames have a much different vibe. Sure, they may not have the offensive firepower of previous editions, but they play a pretty cohesive team game and have proven themselves to be a pretty resilient, scrappy bunch. And the non-stop trade chatter has quieted… for the most part. Because as noted by several of our insider friends, the Flames sure could use a centre – ideally a young, right-shot centre that could grow as part of the team’s young core.
Meanwhile in Buffalo, chaos reigns. Could there be a potential match between the Flames and Buffalo’s young, right-shot centre, Dylan Cozens?
A couple weeks ago on the Dec. 9 edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, in the midst of a conversation between Elliotte Friedman and co-host Kyle Bukauskas about Buffalo’s challenges – and the time, the Sabres’ winless skid was “only” six games – Friedman brought up the previous times the Sabres had moved on from a player, only to see them blossom elsewhere:
“My question would be, why, after he left Buffalo, did Ryan O’Reilly win the Conn Smythe Trophy in the Stanley Cup? Why, after he left Buffalo, did Linus Ullmark win a Vezina Trophy? Why, after he left Buffalo, did Sam Reinhart turn into a 57-goal scorer, one of the best two-way players in the league, this year proving it wasn’t a fluke and become a lock for Team Canada? And why, after he left Buffalo, is Jack Eichel turned into one of the best players in the NHL? That is the only question I’d be asking… Brandon Montour is another good one. A critical piece of a Stanley Cup champion… You know, like, that’s the only thing that I am asking myself. That’s the only thing that matters. And you have to be unwavering and unsparing in your internal debate about that question. Like, there are times in your life you have to be really harsh on yourself. What did you do wrong, and how are you going to fix it? And I think the Sabres are kind of at that point.”
Turning the discussion to Cozens, Friedman added this comment:
“The Buffalo fans right now, they’re all over Dylan Cozens. They’re all over him. And I do think teams have asked about Cozens this year. And if I’m Adams and the Sabres, I’m worried, like, if we trade him, does he become the next guy?”
A first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Cozens played his junior hockey in the Western League with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Now 24, he’s a right-shot centre who’s emerged as a solid NHLer, but his game has experienced some ups and downs during his 300-plus games in the Show. This season he has seven goals and 14 points over 32 games for the Sabres, ninth on the club in points.
Why would the Flames want him? He’s a right-shot centre who’s cost-controlled, signed until the end of the 2029-30 season with a $7.1 million cap hit. Listed at 6’3″ and 195 pounds, he’s the type of forward that scouts love. Sure, he’s experienced challenges in Buffalo. But if you’re the Flames, you probably look at his raw potential and think that between veteran players like Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund, and your coaching and development staff, you can turn him around and help mould him into a more consistent player.
Sure, Cozens hasn’t been a world-beater over the last couple seasons – his breakout 31 goal season was in 2022-23, and his 14.7% shooting percentage seems like an outlier in retrospect – but the Flames need some younger centres, especially right shots, and buying low on Cozens could be a decent gamble considering the organization’s needs. Centre seems like the big hole in an organization that otherwise seems to have youngsters pushing at every other position. Cozens could be the answer.
Why would the Sabres want to move him? Things aren’t going well for Buffalo these days, and Cozens represents a gigantic financial commitment to a player that might not live up to that investment. In an effort to turn things around, the Sabres may be interested in moving on from some struggling assets and Cozens could fetch them something decent in a swap.
As Friedman noted, though, perhaps the Sabres are going to try to deal with their more existential challenges before parting ways with promising young players. But with the losses piling up, their nerve and patience may run out, and they may be forced into making big changes.
A Cozens trade would be a gamble for both sides: the Flames would be betting that Cozens could return to his previous form – or something close to it – while the Sabres would be betting in the opposite direction. What type of offer would be needed to get Buffalo’s attention? And would the price become too higher to pay for a retooling Flames team as they try to build up their prospect base? That’s tougher to determine.
Cozens is a young player that probably has a lot of untapped upside left in him. But he’s not a can’t-miss proposition. Would he be a worthwhile gamble for the Flames? And at what price? Let us know in the comments!
