Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 Player Report Cards: Dylan Cozens

The number of times Cozens made the same mistakes was infuriating. In 2022-23, he would skate hard and drive to the net, or take the puck down low and drive to corners to set up plays across the net. In 2023-24, he would skate lightly over the opposing blue line and stop, dump the puck in, or just turn it over; or he would skate directly into three defenders and lose the puck, then chase them without any chance of getting it back. His decision-making was off, and it was hard not to wonder if there was a change on his part, or if this was a system change by former head coach Don Granato. Regardless, it was devastating and killed most of the chances he had once been able to make.

Cozens was shuffled around the lineup throughout the season as a result, as his usual grouping of JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn were being utilized elsewhere or were injured. Cozens did see some time on the top line with Tage Thompson and got some opportunities with Alex Tuch, but when he was struggling, he found himself as a plug in the bottom six with Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons.

Granato has a tendency to take a struggling player and stick them with Okposo and Girgensons, and sometimes it worked, but for Cozens, the time spent between them was not long enough to establish any behavioral changes. He went from one of the Sabres top scorers to one of their least noticeable players on any night.

Grading Cozens

Between his decline and different style of play, Cozens left a lot to be desired this season. There were some things to like from his game – he was still a mild physical presence, was decent in the face-off circle (45.5%), and was taking responsibility like a leader should regularly. With all of that taken into consideration, his grades would look like this:

The offensive side of his game got away from him this season, but the intangibles were there on most nights. Cozens was still vocal, and he acted like the leader coaches and management expected him to be – always willing to back up anything he said with his actions on the ice. Be it a fight, a scrum, or just some barbed words towards the opposition, Cozens was always engaged in the game. It would just have been nice to see him on the scoreboard more often.

Cozens Future With the Sabres

Cozens still has a long and bright future ahead of him with the team. If he is going to be moved in a trade or bought out, it won’t be because of his character. Should his production dip further, general manager Kevyn Adams may explore that kind of option in the distant future, but for now, he is still a key part of the offensive core.

As the Sabres’ second-line center, he will likely see ice time with Zach Benson and Jack Quinn when training camp rolls around next season, barring any additions to the top-6 in the offseason. He is one of the best bounce-back candidates for 2024-25, and there is a lot to hope for from him. With a coach like Lindy Ruff now in town to drive a workhorse like Cozens to the brink, there is no telling what his ceiling might be. I am chalking this season up to a singular low point and expect Cozens to be back to the mid-high 20-goal scoring range and 55-60+-point scoring form that he is capable of.