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Calgary Flames are talking trade with the Buffalo Sabres: report

Offside Staff
Offside Staff
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Jan 9 2025, 11:33 pm
Calgary Flames are talking trade with the Buffalo Sabres: report
Timothy T. Ludwig/Imagn Images

Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy has been open about his desire to add a young centreman to his roster, and it sounds like he has his eye on one in particular.

There’s been increasing speculation about Dylan Cozens’ future with the Buffalo Sabres. The team is struggling yet again, and so is Cozens, who has just 20 points through 41 games.

Despite the struggles, Cozens is a player many teams around the league would like to have, and several have reportedly inquired about. One of those teams is the Flames, who don’t have a ton of prospects down the middle of the ice. According to a new report from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Conroy has had chats with Sabres management about a potential Cozens deal.

“The Calgary Flames are really on the hunt for a centre. I think they’re one of the teams that [have] been calling and checking in on Cozens and seeing what that price looks like,” Seravalli said. “It’s a right-shot centre at that. They’ve set their wish list. They’re looking for a top-end right shot centre.”

Cozens, who is in the second season of a seven-year deal paying him $7.1 million annually, is struggling for the second straight season. He compiled just 47 points in 79 games in 2023-24. Needless to say, there is some risk that comes with acquiring him, though the upside is hard to ignore.

The 2022-23 season was a breakout year for Cozens, who had career highs across the board with 31 goals and 68 points in 81 outings. He’s still just 23 years old. There is plenty of intrigue that a change of scenery is all he needs in order to get his game back on track and develop into the player many believed he was becoming just a few years ago.

It’s tough to predict what an exact package for Cozens would look like, given his more recent struggles, but a player with his upside wouldn’t come cheap. It remains to be seen whether the Flames would be willing to match whatever price the Sabres are looking for, but it’s evident that there is interest from their side.

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