Kevyn Adams wanted to make it clear he wasn’t looking to deal center Dylan Cozens as he worked to improve the Buffalo Sabres before Friday’s trade deadline.
But as the general manager went about trying to make a big move to change the dynamic of a last-place team that will miss the playoff for the 14th consecutive season, he found conversations started around Cozens.
In Cozens, he possessed a 24-year-old second-line center who has a 31-goal season on his resume and a contract that runs for another five years.
The Yukon native, despite some notable struggles over the last two seasons, was Adams’ greatest asset as he sought to bring the Sabres immediate help.
So a few hours before the 3 p.m. deadline, he dealt Cozens to the Ottawa Senators with defenseman Dennis Gilbert and a second-round pick in 2026 in exchange for center Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker.
“It was going to have to be a hockey trade that we felt made our team better,” Adams told reporters Friday in Florida of why he dealt Cozens, a player once regarded as one of the Sabres’ cornerstones.
Adams said the trade had been in the works “quite a while.” He had made it clear to the rest of the NHL the Sabres were “open for business.” As the they fell back to the bottom of the league, it became evident one of their core players would eventually be traded.
“You can’t be afraid of making changes,” Adams said. “Can’t be afraid of making big trades. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say part of the reason we were really open to a big trade is how the season’s gone. But these are hard trades to make. We trade out good players and we’re excited about the return. But these are hard, hard days.
“But at the end of the day, when I get to this point and I’m talking to you guys, I feel like we accomplished our goal coming into the trade deadline period of making our team better.”
Norris, 25, is an intriguing talent. Left shoulder problems – he has undergone three surgeries since 2019 – forced him to miss 108 games over the previous two seasons. He has remained healthy this year, however, scoring 20 goals and 33 points in 53 games.
“We were certainly comfortable that he’s healthy,” Adams said.
The Michigan native will possibly slide into Cozens’ old spot pivoting the second line.
Having won 53.8 percent of his faceoffs this season, he can help in the dot. That number ranks first on the Sabres.
“He’s a 200-foot center, very, very talented, responsible on both sides of the puck,” Adams said. “He plays in all situations. … Just a really good hockey player that is a true center that we think is going to be a guy that can come in and give us a boost and make the guys around him better.”
The 6-foot-2, 196-pound Norris set career highs by scoring 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games in 2021-22. He’s in the third season of an eight-year, $63.6 million contract.
The San Jose Sharks drafted him 19th overall in 2017. The Senators acquired him in 2018 in the blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Erik Karlsson to the Sharks.
After spending two years at the University of Michigan, he earned AHL top rookie honors in 2019-20, scoring 30 goals and 61 points in 56 games for the Belleville Senators.
He has compiled 90 goals and 156 points in 236 career NHL games since 2020-21.
Meanwhile, Bernard-Docker, 24, offers Buffalo’s defense depth and another right-handed shot. He has compiled one goal and four points in 23 games this season. He suffered a high ankle sprain earlier this year.
“It’s a good opportunity to get him in and kind of assess where he’s at,” said Adams, whose Sabres play a road game tonight against the Panthers.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Docker has spent parts of the last five seasons in Ottawa, registering five goals and 29 points in 129 outings. He played a career-high 72 games last season.
The Senators drafted the Alberta native 26th overall in 2018. He spent three years at the University of North Dakota.
Bernard-Docker is in the second season of a two-year, $1.61 million contract. He can become a restricted free agent following the season.
The deal follows months of speculation Cozens would be dealt.
He has struggled since inking his seven-year $49.7 million extension, scoring just 29 goals over the last two seasons. He has compiled 11 goals, 31 points and a minus-13 rating in 61 games this year.
After Buffalo’s previous regime drafted him seventh overall in 2019, he joined the Sabres in 2020-21.
As the team’s and his own problems mounted, frustration sometimes overwhelmed Cozens, and he occasionally fought opponents or earned misconducts.
Cozens often talked about what a tight-knit group the Sabres have become and his love for his teammates. He also made it clear he wanted to be part of the solution.
“Nothing but respect for Dylan, the way he carried himself,” Adams said. “He would be the first one in my office saying, ‘I need to be better, and, ‘What do I need to do to help this team?’ Always looking at himself and internally, and wanting more from his own game, which I have a lot of respect for. …
“And he committed to us long-term at a time, if you go back, where there wasn’t as much of that going on.”
Adams said had an emotional meeting with Cozens on Friday.
“He’s someone that I care about, have a lot of respect for, and basically what I told him was just that, ‘I appreciate you as a person,’” Adams said. “This is not personal. This is us in a position where I felt I had to made a really hard decision to improve our club.
“I gave him a hug and wished him luck and told him that just sometimes in life, the next chapter turns out can a great thing.
Gilbert, 28, was the Sabres’ only player from Buffalo. He offered them toughness after signing a one-year contract, sometimes as their seventh defender.
“I love Gibby,” Adams said. “He did everything he was asked here. There was a reason Ottawa wanted him. Can’t say enough good things about Gibby. He’s all about the town of Buffalo, too. So that wasn’t any easy part of that trade, moving a guy like him.”
The Sabres host the Senators, their Atlantic Division rival, on March 25.
Adams said Norris was to join the Sabres late Friday. Bernard-Docker, meanwhile, must go through immigration.