BUFFALO – Center Dylan Cozens, one of the Sabres’ core assets just a few weeks ago, emerged from the visiting dressing room clad in black, red and gold gear and walked to a backdrop adorned with logos of the Ottawa Senators.
Then Cozens, sporting a backwards baseball hat and his customary smile, began answering questions about the deadline trade that sent him to the Sabres’ Atlantic Division rival.
“It still really doesn’t feel real being here and being in the visiting room,” Cozens told a throng of reporters prior to Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Sabres, his first game as a visitor at KeyBank Center. “It’s a little weird, for sure, but something I’ll definitely get used to over time.”
Cozens, 24, has paid immediate dividends, helping the Senators go 6-2-0 in eight outings entering Tuesday and jump into the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot.
He has quickly found chemistry pivoting Drake Batherson and David Perron.
Still, Cozens, who signed a seven-year, $49.7 million contract extension two years ago, never wanted to leave Buffalo.
“I committed to being here,” said Cozens, who recorded an assist in the first period, his eighth point with Ottawa. “I wanted to be a part of the solution.”
Cozens grew up in Buffalo over five seasons and often talked about how much he enjoyed being a part of a tight-knit group. As he struggled for two years and the Sabres regressed, he tried to ignore the trade rumors that materialized as his production dropped.
“My name was out there for a while,” said Cozens, the seventh overall pick by the Sabres in 2019. “I thought a lot of it was just kind of talk, rumors and stuff. I never really thought it would actually happen.”
When the deal went through – the Sabres sent Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert and a second-round pick in 2026 to Ottawa in exchange for center Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker – he said “it still did come as a shock.”
“It was sad but exciting at the same time,” Cozens said. “I was excited to join Ottawa but I was also sad to leave Buffalo. I had a lot of great experiences here. This is where I started my career. A lot of great friends, a lot of great memories here.”
In the Senators, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2017, he has joined a team in a similar situation to the Sabres, whose NHL-record postseason drought will hit 14 years this season.
But in Ottawa, a team the Sabres have battled fiercely over the years, Cozens said he has found some positive energy.
“There’s definitely a lot of negative energy here over the years, which takes a toll on you,” said Cozens, who received a warm ovation from the crowd after the Sabres honored him and Gilbert with a tribute video. “It takes a toll on everyone. No one can block that all out. Yeah, it’s nice to be on a team that’s in a good spot right now and pushing for a playoff spot. There’s lots of good energy, good, positive vibes in the room, which makes it easier to show up every day and come to the rink every day.”
As Cozens helps the Senators roar toward that elusive playoff spot, Norris is sidelined.
The Sabres and Norris want to be smart about his middle-body injury, so while the newcomer marked Tuesday’s game on the calendar following the trade, he refused to rush back for it.
If everything goes well, then perhaps Norris, 25, will be ready for next Tuesday’s game in Ottawa.
That, of course, is a big if.
The center has missed six straight games. He has played just three times since the Sabres acquired him.
“You can’t rush certain things like this, and it is what it is,” a disappointed Norris said Tuesday morning. “It’s obviously a game that I’d like to play in, for sure, but … I’ve gotta be smart about it, too.”
Norris accompanied the Sabres’ on their recent four-game road trip but did not practice. He said the injury, which he began dealing with before his arrival in Buffalo, happened over an “accumulation of games.” He hasn’t played since March 12.
He doesn’t have a timeline for his recovery.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “Slow progress. … (I’m) feeling better.”
Norris said right now, there’s no chance the Sabres will shut him down for the final weeks of the season.
“No, it’s one day at a time,” he said.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said “it’s only an injury only a player knows how it feels.”
“It’s been diagnosed,” he said. “He’s trying to work his way through it.”
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Sabres rookie Jiri Kulich, who missed four games with a concussion, returned Tuesday, centering Zach Benson and Tage Thompson against the Senators.
Meanwhile, wingers Jordan Greenway and Sam Lafferty both missed the game.
Greenway suffered a lower-body injury in Sunday afternoon’s 5-3 road win against the Winnipeg Jets. Ruff said the injury did not occur when he blocked a shot in the game.
Ruff said Lafferty, who suffered a groin injury in Saturday afternoon’s 4-1 road loss to the Minnesota Wild, skated on his own Tuesday morning.
“So he’s better than expected,” he said. “That was a little bit of a groin he suffered there. The fact he skated already puts it day to day for me.”
The Sabres also made two roster moves prior to the game, sending winger Brett Murray back to the Rochester Americans and summoning wing prospect Isak Rosen and center Josh Dunne.
Murray played three games during his recall, recording zero points.
Rosen skated at right wing alongside center Tyson Kozak and Beck Malenstyn, while Dunne was scratched after skating in the pregame warm-up.
Ruff said the Sabres recalled Dunne late in the afternoon because they had some players questionable for the game.
The Sabres also scratched defenseman Jacob Bryson. Bernard-Docker has played the last three games.
The Senators scratched Gilbert.
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The Sabres on Tuesday signed forward Tyler Kopff, a college free agent, to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Kopff, 21, spent the last two seasons at Brown University, compiling 15 goals, 46 points and 28 penalty minutes in 62 games.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Kopff will spend the remainder of this season playing on a tryout with Rochester. His deal kicks in next year.
He registered nine goals, 28 points and 12 penalty minutes in 32 games this season.