Yahoo Sports Red Wings Need To Answer Unique Trade Questions
Since at least December, the Detroit Red Wings have been reported to harbor interest in a trade for 23-year-old Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens. As a young right-shot center, gifted with dynamic skating and at least some track record of NHL productivity, he represents something the Red Wings lack in their immediate prospect pipeline, but does a trade make sense?
Cozens presently has nine goals and a dozen assists for 21 points in 43 games played for the Sabres this season. That's not nothing, but it's not what caught the Red Wings attention. Instead, Cozens' 31-goal, 37-assist 2022–23 campaign suggests a young player worth bringing in, even after just 47 points a year ago.
The tricky part of Cozens' potential appeal is his contract. He is signed to a deal worth $7.1 million-per-season through 2029–30. That contract carries with it some interesting sliding doors. Perhaps Cozens could follow in the footsteps of a player like Dylan Strome, who showed promise in his career's infancy in Chicago before falling out of the Blackhawks' long-term plans and going to Washington, where he has looked like a steal for the Capitals from the moment of his arrival. Or Cozens could find himself in a similar situation to present Red Wings center Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher—effective players in the right context but probably unable to produce at quite the level their contracts suggest.
Then comes the question of a potential return. To me, it seems clear that making this work for Detroit's cap sheet would require one of Copp or Compher to go back to Buffalo in return. I'm not sure how cleanly that fits with the Sabres' potential timeline for contention, nor what else Buffalo would want to send the trade through.
It seems obvious the Red Wings wouldn't part with any of Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, or Moritz Seider. From there, things get a bit murkier. Presumably, the Sabres would want a young forward (either a true prospect or one of the youngsters presently on the NHL roster). Would Detroit be willing to part with one or Marco Kasper or Nate Danielson to make this happen? Would any package that includes Copp or Compher really appeal to the Sabres?
To me, it's difficult to piece together the framework of a trade that truly makes sense for both parties, as I elucidate in the featured video above. However, perhaps Steve Yzerman and Kevyn Adams can come up with a creative solution to satisfy each team.
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