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Trade Interest Growing For Sabres’ Dylan Cozens

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Buffalo Sabres’ centerman Dylan Cozens has been at the focal point of trade rumors all season long – but the recent moves of fellow top trade candidates Mikko Rantanen, J.T. Miller, Marcus Pettersson, and Mikael Granlund have made the spotlight even hotter. Cozens now sits as one of the most desired forwards on the trade market. In addition to the Calgary Flames, who were attached to Cozens in mid-January, the Sabres are also said to be receiving interest from the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs, per NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes.

Cozens seems next in the line of young, productive centermen who can’t quite figure it out in Buffalo. He has just 10 goals and 26 points through 53 games. That’s an 82-game pace of just 40 points, which would continue Cozens’ slide in production over the last three seasons. He posted a career-high 31 goals and 68 points in 81 games in the 2022-23 season but fell to just 18 goals and 47 points last year. That halt in scoring has persisted despite Cozens’ role growing over the last two years. His average ice time has climbed from 16:30 in his career year to 17:30 this season – and he’s improved in his ability to win faceoffs and limit opponent shots, evidenced by a 50.4 faceoff-percentage and 49.84 Corsi-for-percentage (CF%). Cozens has shown a lot of strength as a speedy and controlled play-driver, capable of working well with his teammates when they have momentum – though Buffalo hasn’t had the chance to support his style well for much of the year.

Perhaps more notable than his stats is Cozens’ age. He’s still only 23 years old and already has one 30-goal season under his belt. He ranks ninth among all active U24 forwards in career scoring with 192 points in 333 games, in company with players like Brady Tkachuk and Cole Caufield. Those numbers are slightly skewed by Cozens breaking into the league at age 19, though his 0.58 points-per-game scoring still sits among players like Mason McTavish, Joel Farabee, Cole Perfetti, and Anton Lundell. That’s welcome company, and certainly speaks to Cozens’ future potential as he continues to find consistent scoring.

His scoring upside makes it clear why so many teams are eager to buy Cozens away from the Sabres. But the price of a trade will be harder to gauge. The similarly productive Farabee was recently traded to the Flames alongside Morgan Frost in exchange for roster player Andrei Kuzmenko, prospect Jakob Pelletier, and a second and seventh-round draft pick. That framework could help the Sabres find much-needed support for their blue-line without jeopardizing their top-six. But Cozens is one of just 39 players since 2000 to record a 30-goal season before their 22nd birthday, which could warrant a much loftier return. The Sabres were able to swap productive center Casey Mittelstadt for top, young defenseman Bowen Byram at last year’s trade deadline – accomplishing a best-of-both-worlds swap of young, high-upside players. Current trade boards don’t have a clear parallel to Cozens on the open market – perhaps Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, if Buffalo is willing to add in a substantial premium – but the idea of swapping young forwards could still be optimal for the Sabres.

In the mix of familiar trade rumors, Buffalo’s spot in the standings haven’t changed. The Sabres rank dead-last in the Eastern Conference with a 22-26-5 record and 49 points. That’s even despite a winning uptick as of late – marked by a 6-4-0 record in their last 10 games. The acquisition of Byram has paid dividends for the Sabres early on, but it hasn’t been the boost the team needed to jump up the standings. The same can be said about their trade of Jack Eichel in 2021, which landed them difference-making forwards in Alex Tuch and, to a lesser extent, Peyton Krebs – but still hasn’t tilted the needle. Plenty of interest in Cozens should mean plenty of chance for Buffalo to find a return that’ll work best for them, but they’ll have to be diligent to find a deal that will actually support their roster climb – lest they trade another high-upside scorer well before his prime for a moot return.

Afternoon Notes: Hughes, Pederson, Puljujarvi

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A busy day across the NHL has started with bad news in Vancouver. Vancouver Canucks superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t travel with the team for their Thursday matchup against the San Jose Sharks, per Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor. This will be Hughes’ third straight absence due to a lower-body injury. This is just a one-game road trip for Vancouver. Hughes was red hot prior to injury, with 14 points over his last 10 games and over 25 minutes of average ice time. Hughes’ absence was preceded by Vancouver’s acquisition of veteran defenseman Marcus Pettersson and rookie Victor Mancini. The Canucks still triumphed without their Norris Trophy favorite on Tuesday, beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-0. Pettersson and Tyler Myers each carried extra minutes in Hughes’ absence.

Despite coming off a win and setting up to face a last-place Sharks team, the Canucks are still going to sorely miss Hughes. He has been a force this season, currently sitting with 59 points in 47 games – a mark that leads both the Canucks and all NHL defensemen. He’s once again a favorite for the Norris Trophy, which he won last year, and an emerging candidate for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. Hughes has notably played through injury this year, including a hand injury at the turn of the year. He’s still tracking for a 100-point season despite that, and will be aiming to get quickly back to that pace once his lower-body injury subsides. Hughes is currently listed as out day-to-day.

Staying in Western Canada, the Edmonton Oilers will be without depth forward Lane Pederson for the remainder of the season after he underwent a successful shoulder surgery. Pederson managed an impressive 12 points in 18 AHL games before falling to injury. He’s been a hot scorer in the minors for a few years, netting 24 points in 18 games in 2022-23 and 52 points in 66 games last year. He was rewarded with 27 NHL games in 2022-23 – split between the Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets – but recorded a moot six points and 26 penalty minutes. Pederson will now focus on working his way back to full health in advance of next season’s training camps, where he’ll work to climb up an NHL call-up chart.

Jumping to the East coast, the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the minor leagues. The former top-10 pick has been a healthy scratch in three of Pittsburgh’s last four games. This will be his second stint in the minor leagues, after spending a brief, three-game trip with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in late January. Puljujarvi recorded three points and a minus-two in the appearances – far more production than he’s managed at the NHL level, where he only has nine points in 26 appearances. The routine trips to the minor leagues are the start of a poor pattern for Puljujarvi, who joined the Penguins partway through last season in an effort to maintain his NHL career. He’s struggled to do that up to this point, and will now be tasked with trying to find his groove once again with a productive stint in the minor leagues.

Canucks Reassign Linus Karlsson, Recall Nils Åman

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The Canucks swapped depth forwards on the active roster Wednesday, reassigning Linus Karlsson to AHL Abbotsford and recalling Nils Åman in his place, per a team announcement. Their active roster remains full.

Karlsson, 25, has suited up in seven straight games for the Canucks, adding to his first two appearances of the season in December. He’s scored once in his nine combined appearances, notching a plus-one rating and eight shots on goal while averaging 9:59 per game.

The 6’1″, 178-lb forward can play both wings but has routinely skated on the right this year with Nils Höglander at left-wing and either Teddy Blueger or Elias Pettersson down the middle. His possession impacts haven’t been significant, controlling only 48.9% of shot attempts at even strength despite a 59.6 oZS%.

In the minors, the former Swedish Hockey League Rookie of the Year has produced over a point per game with Abbotsford since the beginning of last season. His 18 points in 17 games this year are good for a team-leading 1.06 per game, still ranking third with 12 goals despite his significant time spent on the NHL roster. He had 60 points in 60 AHL games last year to lead the team in scoring.

Karlsson was a third-round pick of the Sharks in 2018 but was acquired less than a year later in a swap of Swedish prospects, sending out Jonathan Dahlén the other way. He’s now in his third professional season in North America after coming over from his native Sweden in 2022.

Åman has far more NHL experience than his counterpart, skating in 116 games for the Canucks over the past three seasons. His role with the club has steadily decreased since appearing in 68 games as a rookie in 2022-23, though, and he’s spent most of the season in Abbotsford with only five NHL appearances to his name. He has two assists and a minus-three rating in that quintet of contests, averaging 10:42 per game and going 10-for-23 on faceoffs.

The 6’2″ center has seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points in 32 AHL games, leading the team in outright scoring. He and Karlsson both came over from the SHL in the same offseason, although he was signed as a free agent after the Avalanche, who selected him in the sixth round in 2020, relinquished his signing rights.

With only 12 forwards on the roster, Åman will presumably draw into the lineup Thursday against the Sharks for the first time since Nov. 9.

Wild Claim Vinnie Hinostroza From Predators, Place Jakub Lauko On IR

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Feb. 5: The Wild claimed Hinostroza off waivers, Friedman reports Wednesday. He provides some much-needed veteran forward depth with a higher offensive ceiling than they already have, with players like Ben Jones and Devin Shore being overtaxed and struggling to produce with Kirill Kaprizov’s injury and Ryan Hartman’s suspension holding them out of the lineup. With no open roster spots, winger Jakub Lauko is headed back to injured reserve with the recurring lower-body injury that’s kept him out of 21 games this season, the team announced.

Feb. 4: The Predators have placed winger Vinnie Hinostroza on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday. He’ll presumably be sent to AHL Milwaukee if he clears.

The versatile 30-year-old forward is the odd man out as Nashville looks to open a roster spot, potentially to activate defenseman Jeremy Lauzon off injured reserve. He’d been playing top-six spot duty for the Preds since they recalled him in late December, even recently skating on a line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly.

However, he hasn’t converted a strong start in the minors into impactful play at the NHL level. He has two assists in 13 games since his recall, averaging 11:32 per game and serving as a healthy scratch in three of Nashville’s last five contests.

Before his recall, the veteran of 387 NHL games was among the AHL’s leading scorers with 33 points in 26 appearances for Milwaukee. His 1.27 points per game still leads minor-leaguers with at least 20 games, although he didn’t participate in yesterday’s AHL All-Star Classic because of his summons to the big club.

The Chicago native inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Preds in free agency last summer and already cleared waivers once at the beginning of the season. He’s no longer the 30-point threat he was with the Blackhawks and Coyotes early in his career, and he hasn’t played more than 30 NHL games in a season since 2021-22, but his AHL numbers over the past couple of seasons indicate he’s still a capable depth scorer and a safe veteran recall option. That could draw some interest from some forward-needy teams on the wire, but a commitment past the end of the year is usually enough of a deterrent for players of Hinostroza’s caliber to pass through waivers unclaimed.

Flames Recall Ilya Solovyov

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The Flames announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled defenseman Ilya Solovyov from AHL Calgary. He takes the roster spot of Kevin Bahl, who was placed on injured reserve last week following an upper-body injury.

It’s Solovyov’s first recall of the season after playing 10 NHL games last year and subsequently clearing waivers during training camp. The 24-year-old lefty has emerged as a top-pairing AHL option with the Wranglers this season, ranking second on the team with a +18 rating and posting six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 41 games.

That two-way play will earn him a look on the NHL roster for the first time since last April. The 2020 seventh-rounder didn’t look entirely out of place in his first big-league audition, posting three assists in 10 games for the Flames in 2023-24 while averaging 15:54 per game. His 46.1 CF% at even strength wasn’t impressive but wasn’t abysmal, either, and he blocked 17 shots and laid 14 hits during his time in the lineup as well.

Solovyov was a restricted free agent for most of last summer before returning to Calgary on a two-year, partial two-way deal that converts to a one-way pact for 2025-26. It’s clear the Flames see NHL upside in the 6’3″ Belarusian, and he could be set to enter the lineup in place of struggling veteran Tyson Barrie on Thursday against the Avalanche.

Blue Jackets Reassign Dylan Gambrell

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Feb. 5: Gambrell is back with Cleveland today, per a team announcement. He didn’t play in last night’s loss to the Sabres.

Feb. 3: The Columbus Blue Jackets have utilized an emergency recall on forward Dylan Gambrell following news that star forward Kirill Marchenko suffered a broken jaw. Gambrell hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2022-23 season, when he recorded 10 points, 35 penalty minutes, and a minus-four in 60 games with the Ottawa Senators.

Gambrell was a routine NHL fixture from 2019 to 2023. Through two seasons with the San Jose Sharks and one additional year in Ottawa, he totaled 30 points in 162 games. He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Marlies last season, and his 36 points in 66 AHL games were stout enough to convince the Blue Jackets to sign him to a two-way deal this summer. That’s proven to be a sound bet, with Gambrell now ranked seventh on the Cleveland Monsters in scoring with 20 points in 31 games. Two of the six players above him are already on the Blue Jackets roster – Denton Mateychuk and Luca Del Bel Belluz.

Gambrell likely won’t join his peers in the Blue Jackets lineup right away, instead set to serve as the team’s extra forward in their three remaining games before the upcoming 4-Nations break. If he does get into the lineup, it will be over one of Mikael Pyyhtia, Kevin Labanc, or Zach Aston-Reese – who have each posted no scoring in their last 10 games.

Gambrell will be eligible to stay with the Blue Jackets roster for 10 games or 30 days under the conditions of his emergency recall. After that, the team will have to use a formal recall to keep him on the lineup. Columbus could also opt to recall one of Trey Fix-Wolansky, Rocco Grimaldi, or Owen Sillinger. All three have outscored Gambrell in their minor league appearances.

Sharks Still Open To Moving Mario Ferraro, Avalanche Interested

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The Avalanche are one of the teams displaying interest in Sharks defense mainstay Mario Ferraro as they continue to listen to trade offers, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

San Jose hasn’t been actively shopping Ferraro but has been listening to offers for over a year. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported in December 2023 that the Sharks were beginning to field calls on the blue-liner. Pagnotta said before last year’s draft that they continued to weigh offers. He’s stuck around in the Bay Area in part due to a high asking price, something that made sense for Grier earlier in the process with plenty of term left on his contract and no urgency to move him.

However, Ferraro will enter the final year of his contract in 2025-26 and has a $3.25MM cap hit right in line with his market value, if not slightly lower. The Sharks could always opt to hold onto him and initiate extension negotiations over the offseason, but that would be out of line with Grier’s recent moves. Pending UFAs Mackenzie Blackwood and Cody Ceci both expressed interest in extensions with the Sharks midseason but have both been traded.

At first glance, Ferraro’s numbers are ghastly. He’s logged heavy minutes on an understaffed San Jose blue line over the life of his deal and has a cumulative -91 rating in 205 games over the last three seasons. He’s not a factor on the power play and has 11 points in 55 games, so he’s not a considerable factor offensively, either. But his relative possession metrics have improved in recent campaigns, especially considering the quality of competition he faces without much support. His 43.8 CF% last year and 45.2 CF% this year are right in line with team averages. Ferraro’s pairings with Timothy Liljegren and Jan Rutta this season have also been the best of a bad bunch at controlling possession quality, ranking first and second among qualified Sharks defense units with a 44.4 xGF% and 43.9 xGF%, per MoneyPuck.

There’s slightly more reason for the Sharks to move on with a year left on his deal, and there’s likely more interest from trade suitors with less financial risk if he doesn’t pan out. The 26-year-old lefty could have increased effectiveness in reduced usage, although he hasn’t seen third-pairing deployment since his rookie season in 2019-20.

Regarding the Avalanche’s interest, they have a clear need for a third-pairing upgrade, especially on the left side. Calvin de Haan and Oliver Kylington have been unimpressive enough to lose their roles to career AHLer Keaton Middleton, who has two assists in 26 games this season but averages just 10:44 per game. While Ferraro wouldn’t be relied upon for 20-plus minutes behind Devon Toews and Samuel Girard on Colorado’s left side, he can certainly manage far more usage than that and be a factor on the team’s penalty kill, which is already clicking at an above-average 80.4%.

Canucks, Sharks Discussed Cody Ceci Trade

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The Sharks nearly dealt pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci to the Canucks before sending him to the Stars along with Mikael Granlund over the weekend, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said Tuesday.

Evidently, Ceci was a backup plan for Vancouver in case they couldn’t pull off their Friday evening two-part blockbuster, sending J.T. Miller to the Rangers before flipping a newly-acquired first-round pick to the Penguins as part of a deal to land Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. It was discussed enough that “some folks within the San Jose Sharks organization thought [he] was going to Vancouver” earlier in the day, Pagnotta said.

Despite their Pettersson pickup (not to be confused with Elias Pettersson or the other Elias Pettersson), it can be assumed the Canucks are still looking to add another defenseman – especially a righty like Ceci. While he’ll be finishing out the year in Dallas, the Canucks are now believed to be shopping lefty Carson Soucy, who’s been playing on his off side, as they look to realign their blue line and perhaps look for a more cost-effective solution behind Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers on the depth chart.

While Vancouver has plenty of immediate cap space (over $12MM), Soucy has one year left on his deal at a $3.25MM cap hit. That’s a decent chunk of change that would be better spent as flexibilty in extension talks with their newest Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Pius Suter, and Kevin Lankinen.

Next up on the Canucks’ wish list would likely be the Canadiens’ David Savard, who carries a pricier $3.5MM cap hit but is on an expiring deal and could be made more affordable with salary retention. They’d likely need to find another deal for Soucy or pull the trigger far enough in advance for Montreal to flip him again before the deadline, though, as his role for next year would be muddy with up-and-comers Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher pushing for full-time NHL roles.

Islanders Recall Hudson Fasching From Conditioning Stint

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The New York Islanders have recalled forward Hudson Fasching from a conditioning stint with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). Fasching has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not played since January 5th. He remains on the injured reserve for the time being, despite the recall and can be activated when he is ready to return.

The Islanders could certainly use some extra bodies up front, but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to count on much offense from Fasching. The 29-year-old has yet to post a point in 19 NHL games this season and has tallied just 11 shots while averaging 8:56 of ice time per game. On the defensive side of things, Fasching has 11 hits and three blocked shots.

He was waived to start the season but received a recall in late October when the Islanders started to have injuries emerge throughout the lineup. Fasching has been able to remain on the NHL roster for most of the season despite his limited production.

During his AHL conditioning stint, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native appeared in two games with Bridgeport, going scoreless with a +1 plus/minus and four shots on goal.

Overall, in the AHL this season, Fasching has appeared in seven games, posting a goal and an assist with a -2 plus/minus rating.

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