Report: Teams Enquiring About Sabres' Dylan Cozens

The Buffalo Sabres are at a crossroads. They have a plethora of great young talent, many of them locked up lock-term. But the team continues to struggle, and their GM Kevyn Adams made headlines (not in a good way) with his comments on Friday.

So what's next? Obviously, the vultures (i.e. rival teams) are circling, sensing the possibility of desperation in Buffalo. Insider Elliotte Friedman noted on his 32 Thoughts podcast Monday morning that one player is already garnering plenty of interest:

The Buffalo fans right now, they are all over Dylan Cozens. They're all over him. And I do think teams have asked about Cozens this year.

The former No. 7 overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, Cozens has fallen off a cliff the past couple of seasons. After breaking out with 31 goals in 2022-23, he dropped off to just 18 last year in 79 games, and this season has just six goals and 12 points in 27 games. And yes, the fans have noticed.

seriously, what the hell happened to Dylan Cozens? has his soul left his body? pic.twitter.com/grFtsAKwq9
— Conor Hurley (@CHurls13) December 7, 2024

But Cozens is only in Year 2 of a 7-year, $7.1M AAV contract, and Friedman doesn't feel that Adams would be comfortable watching him go have success elsewhere.

"If I'm Adams and the Sabres, I'm worried that if we trade him, does he become (the next Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Ryan O'Reilly, Linus Ullmark, or Brandon Montour—players that have left Buffalo and gone on to great success elsewhere)?," asked Friedman, rhetorically.

It's a difficult situation for Adams and the Sabres, and it's certainly worth watching as the season continues to unfold.