Another Winner: The Ottawa Senators
This pains me to write as a Leafs fan but what a day for our divisional rival the Ottawa Senators.
They fleeced the Buffalo Sabres (stop letting Kevyn Adams make moves) and acquired Dylan Cozens. In the deal, Ottawa acquired Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round pick in exchange for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
Cozens has struggled this season for Buffalo and fans seemed to be fed up with him although he is just 24 years old. I think we'll see Cozens get a boost just from leaving that toxic situation in Buffalo. He is a talented centre who already has a 30-goal season under his belt in the NHL. He is in year two of a seven-year deal where he makes 7.1 million against the cap and with the cap going up, that will look like a steal.
Norris has had injury issues throughout his career and is on more of an expensive deal, making just under eight million a season until 2029-30. I don't think Norris has as much upside as Cozens plus Buffalo also gave up a second-round pick.
Ottawa also acquired Fabian Zetterlund, Tristen Robins and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft from San Jose in exchange for Zach Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor and a second-round pick in 2025.
Zetterlund is a good addition. He provides versatility to this lineup as he can play centre or the wing for the Sens. He can produce offensively, posting 17 goals and 19 assists for a total of 36 points in 64 games. While it's not as big as the Cozens trade it is still a valuable addition to this roster that is pushing for the playoffs and currently ranks 31st in five-on-five scoring (stats from Moneypuck.com).
I see Ottawa making the playoffs and they'll be a tough out once they get there.