It’s been about a week since the Ottawa Senators acquired Dylan Cozens, and it’s fair to say it couldn’t have gone better. Since the trade, the Senators have won five of their last six games and scored three or more goals a game in all but one. The team is averaging four goals a game, a massive increase from the 2.84 they were averaging before the trade deadline, while also decreasing their average goals allowed from 2.85 to 2.83. With Money Puck giving Ottawa a 94.2% chance to make the playoffs, it looks like their playoff drought will finally come to an end.
While not all of the Senators’ recent success can be placed on Cozens, it’s far from a coincidence that after he joined the team, they got a whole lot better. The former Buffalo Sabre has been a driving force on the second line, bringing a high level of offence and physicality that perfectly meshes with the Senators’ identity. Although it wasn’t easy to see Josh Norris leave, Cozens is exactly what the Senators needed to go from a competitive team to a legitimate playoff threat.
Cozens Is More Impactful Than Norris
On paper, the Cozens-for-Norris trade looked like an even deal. An overpaid, underperforming centre and a depth defenceman was flipped for an overpaid, underperforming centre and a depth defenceman. But Cozens brings several benefits over the former Senators centre that has allowed the Senators to seemingly transform overnight.
Firstly, Cozens is far more offensively driven than Norris. In his first five games in Ottawa, he’s scored two goals, one of which was a game-winner against the Detroit Red Wings, and added three assists. Spread out over 67 games, he would have 22 goals and 55 assists, making him Ottawa’s second-highest scorer behind Brady Tkachuk and tied for second with Drake Batherson in points. He also ranks second over the last six games with 16 shots and over 67 games, he’d rank second behind Tkachuk with 178. Norris was scoring at a 25-goal pace but missed some time in February with an injury that limited him to just 20 goals and 33 points in 53 games. He also doesn’t shoot nearly as much and was on pace to hit just 118 shots by this point of the season.
Health is a major reason that Norris was never able to be the player the Senators needed. In 2021-22, he played a career-high 66 games and scored 35 goals, but then missed almost all the following season and over 30 games in 2023-24. While he continued to score at a high pace when he was with the team, he played only 60% of the Senators games from 2020-24. Cozens hasn’t missed more than a handful of games since a thumb injury in training camp prevented him from making his NHL debut in 2020-21.
Norris is also admittedly a better defensive forward than Cozens. In his 53 games with the Senators this season, Norris averaged 3.1 goals against per 60 minutes (GA/60) at even strength, while Cozens has averaged a 4.1 GA/60 in the same role. But Cozens brings so much more offence that it doesn’t really matter; in his six games, he’s averaging a team-high 5.9 goals for per 60 minutes (GF/60) in all situations and leads the team with 19 scoring chances. Even with his 20 goals, Norris averaged just 2.3 GF/60 before he was moved.
Then there’s the physicality. The two players are very similar in size, with Cozens standing just an inch taller and about 10 pounds heavier, but Cozens is far more willing to throw his extra size around. He already has recorded 26 hits since arriving in Ottawa, a pace that would put him head and shoulders above Tkachuk’s 211 hits this season with 290. Better yet, Cozens has yet to be penalized as a Senator, meaning that he’s throwing clean hits that don’t hurt his team. Everything he does is just better, and the fact that he makes nearly $1 million less than Norris makes him so much more valuable to the Senators.
Teams Need to Make Difficult Moves to Improve
Despite all the benefits Cozens brings, moving Norris wasn’t easy. He was a key part of the Erik Karlsson trade which saw the Senators franchise player depart from a team that was supposed to be a playoff competitor. Norris, along with the first-round draft pick that became Tim Stutzle, formed the backbone of the new Senators. Seeing them emerge as core members of the young team was a testament to the team’s ability to make the best out of a tough situation.
Making things even better for Ottawa was the close relationship between Norris and Tkachuk. The pair played together as juniors and roomed together in Ottawa for their first couple of seasons, so it was no surprise that Tkachuk took the trade hard. “Yeah it’s pretty tough,” he said after the deal. “It sucks. Losing a guy like that, obviously everyone knows how much he means to me…I think they’re going to understand why it’s a little bit of a whirlwind for me personally. But with that being said, it’s all about being a good captain, being a good teammate, and making sure they have everything that they need and have the support right from day one.”
Related: Senators Hit Home Run at Trade Deadline Acquiring Cozens & Zetterlund
Tkachuk wasn’t the only one feeling the loss. Norris was well-liked in the dressing room and made a lot of friends with the Senators. “Josh is one of my best friends since our days, in Belleville,” said Batherson. “So really mixed emotions. Sad to see Josh leave, but excited to get Dylan.” General manager Steve Staios, who pulled the trigger on the deal, was another who found the trade hard to make. “Ultimately, it can’t affect my decision,” he said. “But it was really hard on me. I love Josh Norris.”
Yet, for good teams to become great, they often need to make a big move. For example, in 2002-03, the New Jersey Devils flipped longtime star Petr Sykora for Jeff Friesen, who helped them win their third Stanley Cup at the end of the season. In 1987-88, the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers flipped goalies Andy Moog and Bill Ranford, which led to two Cups for the Oilers. There were likely a lot of emotions around those trades, but they made the teams better, which led to a championship.
It’s Playoffs or Bust for Ottawa
Under former GM Pierre Dorion, the Senators were allowed to make mistakes and grow together. The team took a wait-and-see approach to development and gave the young core a lot of leniency, but it didn’t lead to a lot of success. Now, under Staios, the message is clear – it’s playoffs or bust, and if you can’t get us there, you won’t be here.
Look no further than the deals Staios has already made, shipping out the unhappy Jakub Chychrun for Nick Jensen, replacing Parker Kelly and Mark Kastelic with Michael Amadio and Adam Gaudette, and adding David Perron and now Cozens to boost the team’s top six. Many of the players cut loose were seen as solid players, but they weren’t good enough, so they were moved for players who could better fit the team.
Perron has seen this before. He was moved from the St. Louis Blues in 2013 and again in 2017 before returning for a third stint that eventually helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2019. He’s very familiar with the tinkering that happens when a general manager believes their team is close to competing for the Stanley Cup. “You never want to be part of that,” he said. “You want to be part of the solution and it doesnât mean youâre part of the problem. The GMs are always trying to make their teams better and theyâre not just going to stand still. That was probably a big reason for the moves…But it opens up the subject that, âHey, itâs going to keep happening until you really find a way to take the next step'” (from “The changes the Ottawa Senators made at the deadline won’t be the last,” The Ottawa Citizen – 3/10/25).
With Cozens, the Senators have taken a huge step forward. Every line is producing, and having a healthy second-line centre is a big reason they’ve started forming some chemistry. Depth is critical in the playoffs, and with Cozens providing some stability to the lineup, Ottawa has been much more dangerous to face. The team is now more physical, another crucial aspect for a deep playoff run. This recent run for the Senators isn’t just encouraging for a strong finish; it’s a sign of much better things to come.
At their current pace, there’s no question that they’ll break their seven-year playoff drought this season. Whether or not they can get out of the first round is another question that will be answered later; right now, the team just needs to get in, and Cozens gives them that opportunity. After that, anything can happen.
