The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly interested in acquiring Buffalo Sabres centre Dylan Cozens, a player that GM Brad Treliving should absolutely be aggressively pursuing.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes shared on Wednesday that the Sabres have received interest from four teams, including the Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames. Given Cozens’ age, his skillset, his abilities to play centre or wing, his contract, and the cherry on top that he’s right-handed, the Leafs should be making a significant trade offer to try and pry him away from their divisional rivals.
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams will certainly be running a hard bargain on Treliving, as in-division trades always come with a premium. Cozens, who turns 24 on Superbowl Sunday, is having a somewhat down season, recording 10 goals and 26 points in 53 games. Considering how bad the Sabres have been for most of this season, there really isn’t anything to worry about when it comes to production. Cozens scored 31 goals as a 22-year-old, two seasons ago, and that’s the type of scoring touch that the Leafs could see if he was slotted on their second line, playing alongside Bobby McMann and William Nylander — a trio who could be the Leafs’ second line for many years to come.
Cozens is 6-foot-3, and he brings size and serious skill to the ice each and every game. The Whitehorse, YT native isn’t afraid to throw his weight around either, landing 118 hits, which would rank him third on the Leafs, just ahead of Matthew Knies. Cozens cap hit isn’t something to necessarily worry too much about moving forward, as the salary cap is jumping a large amount over the next three years, and will sit around $115 eventually, however, this season it could be tough for Treliving to make the money work. It’s likely if the Sabres and Maple Leafs finalize a deal around Cozens that another team will be involved to help facilitate the finances. Yes, the deal would be pricey for Toronto in the end, but, it could be worth it and pay off with serious dividends.
Talent like Cozens doesn’t grow on trees, and if Adams is open to moving him to the Maple Leafs, regardless of the Atlantic Division ripple effects, then Treliving should get off his wallet, and ante up a serious trade offer. If the Maple Leafs pull this off, it feels like Fraser Minten heading to Buffalo is a given. Treliving has likely been shopping Marlies’ defenceman Topi Niemela, so he would be included, and the Sabres will want some scoring touch back in the deal, so insert one-time disgruntled winger, Nick Robertson, who did ask for a trade last summer. The only issue here, the money still doesn’t add up, so there’s certainly potential if this trade materializes, that David Kampf and his $2.4 million cap hit would be included, however, there’s a big hurdle to overcome with Kampf owning a 10-team no-trade clause. To say this trade would have many levels, would be an understatement of the year, but there could be a way to make it work, we’ll get to that later.
Matthews and Cozens would complement each other immensely
There’s a lot to like about having Auston Matthews and Cozens down the middle of the Leafs’ top six. Add John Tavares in the three-hole for the next three seasons, and all of a sudden, the Leafs’ centre ice position becomes a legitimate strength.
Cozens is strong in the faceoff circle and right-handed, something the Leafs haven’t had regularly since Jason Spezza retired. Cozens has won over 50% of his draws this season, a career-high, and, he’s going to shatter the most hits he’s thrown in a year, and blocked shots. Even with the Sabres last in the East, it’s nice to see Cozens concentrating on improving his game in all areas.
As far as skating goes, Cozens is as smooth as they come, with serious power. Think Matthews, but even a little bit better:
| Cozens | NHL Edge Numbers | Matthews |
| 22.51 | Max Speed (MPH) | 22.33 |
| 4 | 22+ MPH Speed Bursts | 1 |
| 79 | 20-22 MPH Speed Bursts | 44 |
| 337 | 18-20 MPH Speed Bursts | 286 |
One wild-card scenario to think of would be the Leafs moving Max Domi in this trade to Buffalo. Yes, he just re-signed at $3.75 million AAV last summer, and he does have a 13-team no-trade, which could very well include the Sabres on it, but, in a perfect world, Treliving would include Domi’s contract in this deal, add Minten and Niemela, and keep the likes of Easton Cowan, Robertson, Ben Danford, and any future first-round picks. Domi has 19 points in 45 games this year, has lost his 3C role, and with Knies and McMann on the left side for years to come, doesn’t have a home in the top six.
Cozens in Toronto would be a great fit, give the Maple Leafs another core piece to build around, and help with that next wave of talent behind the Marner, Nylander and Matthews’ of the world. It’s not very often a team is open to moving such a talented right-handed centre, and with Treliving open to spending for a centre with term on his contract, this is as close as it gets to a perfect match. So much so, even if a deal doesn’t materialize before March 7, this could be a swap that Treliving re-visits in the summertime, assuming Adams doesn’t move Cozens before then.
With all the trade interest around the league to acquire Cozens, this could easily become a very expensive deal for Treliving to complete. However, be it that Cozens is entering his prime, he complements Toronto’s lineup tremendously and is locked in until 2029-30, this should be an instance where the Maple Leafs GM is open to overpaying to finalize the deal.
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