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Sabres, Senators Swap Joshua Norris, Dylan Cozens

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The Ottawa Senators have confirmed one of the biggest deals of deadline day. Ottawa is trading Joshua Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Buffalo Sabres for Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert, and a 2026 second-round pick.

In what has quickly become one of the surprise trades of the deadline, the Sabres are taking a major gamble in Norris. His talent is undeniable, as the former 19th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft has scored 90 goals and 156 points in 236 games with the Senators. Unfortunately, his battles with injury have defined much of his career.

Norris last completed a full campaign in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The University of Michigan product scored 17 goals and 35 points in 56 games, leading to a fourth-place finish in Calder Trophy voting. He had some maturing to do on the defensive side of the puck, but his 1.28 hits-per-game showed Norris wasn’t afraid to get involved physically.

The 2021-22 campaign became his true breakout season. Norris finished the season with 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games, averaging 18:35 of time on ice. He led the Senators in goal-scoring as a 22-year-old and handled himself well in the faceoff dot with a 51.1% success rate — something quite rare for young centers.

Ottawa was rightfully impressed by Norris’s sophomore season. Upon the expiration of his entry-level contract, the Senators signed Norris to an eight-year, $63.6MM contract, with a 10-team no-trade clause kicking in at the start of the 2026-27 season.

Unfortunately, it’s been mostly downhill for Norris since signing that contract. Due to multiple shoulder injuries, Norris has been limited to 49.3% of Ottawa’s regular-season contests since putting pen to paper on his current deal.

Still, he’s only missed eight games for the Senators this season. He’s scored 20 goals and 13 assists in 53 games, averaging 18:20 of ice time with a 53.8% faceoff rate. Norris has improved his physicality too, registering 133 hits on the year, leading all Senators’ forwards by a significant margin. His possession quality has taken a step back with a 48.8% CorsiFor% at even strength, but much of that can be explained through his 60.0% defensive zone start percentage.

Should he remain healthy, Norris gives Buffalo a grittier option at the second-line center position without sacrificing too much on offense. The Sabres already ranked 11th in the league with a 3.18 GF/G, so moving Cozens for Norris is an acknowledgment from the team about their discrepancies.

Cozens was in a similar situation to Norris, but it wasn’t because of any injury concerns. The Whitehorse, Yukon native broke out in a big way during the 2022-23 season, scoring 31 goals and 68 points in 81 games. Believing that he had become a long-term center option in the team’s top-six, Buffalo extended Cozens to a seven-year, $49.7MM contract later that season.

He hasn’t been worth that salary since. In 140 games with the Sabres since signing the contract, Cozens has registered 29 goals and 78 points, averaging 17:13 of ice time in a second-line role. His 47.7% success rate in the faceoff dot is nothing to scoff at, and his 51.1% CorsiFor% is on par with Buffalo’s team average of 51.2% this season.

Unfortunately, outside of JJ Peterka, Cozens has arguably become the least responsible forward on the Sabres’ roster on the defensive side of the puck. His 86.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength is the second-worst on the team, just like his -13 rating.

Still, he’s a physical player like Norris and has similar point production despite the down year. Cozens has been far more available than Norris in the last several years, making this a safer trade for Ottawa. Isolating the deal to Norris and Cozens, the Senators will save $850K between the two centers.

Meanwhile, the swap of Bernard-Docker and Gilbert will only affect the team’s depth options on defense. Despite being a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Bernard-Docker has yet to fully break out at the NHL level. He’ll finish his tenure in Ottawa with five goals and 20 points in 129 contests, averaging 15:06 of ice time and carrying a -4 rating.

Gilbert has consistently provided mild value throughout his career as a depth defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, and Buffalo Sabres. In 107 career games, he’s scored three goals and recorded 19 points, averaging 12:10 of ice time per game with a -18 rating.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report Norris and Bernard-Docker were being traded to Buffalo. 

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report that Cozens was headed to Ottawa. 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the full details of the trade. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images. 

Kings To Acquire Andrei Kuzmenko

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The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). The deal will see a third round pick in 2027, and a 2025 seventh round pick (as per team release) headed back to the Flyers (as per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports) who will also retain 50% of Kuzmenko’s cap hit for the remainder of the season (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). Kuzmenko is in the second season of a two-year, $11MM contract that carries an annual cap hit of $5.5MM. With the 50% retention, Los Angeles will only be adding $2.75MM to their cap spreadsheet. Kuzmenko is set to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.

It’s the second trade in two months for the 29-year-old Kuzmenko who was dealt from Calgary to Philadelphia back on January 30th along with Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. It’s been a quiet season for Kuzmenko who has been unable to find stability among all of the movement. In 43 games this year, Kuzmenko has registered just six goals and 14 assists.

An undrafted free agent signing in July 2022, Kuzmenko had a monstrous rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, posting 39 goals and 35 assists in 81 games. However, his sophomore season saw a dramatic drop off in production as Kuzmenko tallied just 22 goals and 24 assists in 72 games and was dealt midseason to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade.

Kuzmenko leaves Philadelphia having played just seven games with the Flyers. He was quite good in Philadelphia after struggling in Calgary, posting two goals and three assists in his abbreviated stay. He could prove to be a steal for the Kings if he can get on a heater. Kuzmenko has been streaky throughout his NHL career and has responded well following trades in the past. Last year after joining Calgary mid-season, Kuzmenko went on to notch 14 goals and 11 assists in his final 29 games after a sluggish start to his season. If Los Angeles gets production anything close to that it will have been worth the cost of the third-round pick.

New Jersey Devils Expressing Interest In Brayden Schenn

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As originally reported by Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, and later confirmed by James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, center Brayden Schenn has become a focus player for the New Jersey Devils today. Factoring in their reported interest in Nashville Predators’ Ryan O’Reilly, the Devils are aggressively pursuing a top-six center and are unafraid of any remaining term.

Schenn would check a lot of the same boxes that O’Reilly does. He’s a veteran two-way center who can play in New Jersey’s top six for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign before transferring to a third-line role once Jack Hughes returns next season.

He shouldn’t cost any more than O’Reilly, either. Schenn has three years at a $6.5MM cap hit remaining on his current deal with a full no-trade clause this season. That no-trade clause transitions to a 15-team no-trade clause for the last three years of his contract.

The native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, may not fill the offensive gap left by Hughes, but his physicality and defensive skills are exceptional. This season, he has scored 12 goals and accumulated 38 points in 63 games with the Blues, showing a slight improvement in points per game compared to his previous season, during which he recorded 20 goals and 46 points.

Meanwhile, Schenn has already eclipsed 100 hits on the season for the 14th consecutive year and is averaging higher than a 50.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. New Jersey is already 11th in the league in hits given this year with 1401, but their faceoff rate could use some work as they rank 24th with a team success rate of 49.05%.

Given the trade chatter surrounding Schenn the last several weeks, the Devils would undoubtedly have to part with their 2026 first-round pick in the hypothetical trade. St. Louis is known to be seeking additional assets, but a first-round pick is an imperative part of the deal. New Jersey appears inclined to make that a part of any package for a promising center, but they’ll pursue all other options before pulling the trigger.

Devils Sign Johnathan Kovacevic To Five-Year Extension

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The Devils are closing in on an extension with pending UFA defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. The team later announced it’s a five-year deal worth $20MM, paying him an average of $4MM per season. The year-by-year salary breakdown is available in the team release. Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a no-trade clause through 2026-27 and a 10-team no-trade from 2027-28 until its expiry in 2029-30.

New Jersey acquired the 27-year-old from the Canadiens last summer in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. It was a prudent move from the Devils, who’ve gotten solid defensive play out of the righty in career-high minutes. Averaging 19:43 per game, he’s posted 1-13–14 with a +11 rating in 63 games.

The hulking 6’5″, 223-lb defender doesn’t play an uber-physical game, but still ranks fifth on the Devils with 81 blocks and seventh with 83 hits. Since breaking into the league with the Jets in 2022, his value has come from strong possession play in defensive-oriented minutes. His pairing with the now-injured Jonas Siegenthaler has been one of the best shutdown units in the league this season, allowing only 1.82 expected goals against per 60 minutes. According to MoneyPuck, that’s ninth-best in the league among pairings with at least 150 minutes together.

The Devils now have their top three right-shot defensemen under contract next season. It calls into question the future of 2022 No. 2 overall pick Simon Nemec, a 21-year-old righty who’s failed to impress in his NHL minutes this season. After posting 3-13–19 with a minus-seven rating in 60 games last year, he’s recorded just one assist in 15 showings in 2024-25 while averaging 15:29 per game. Reports as recent as last week still indicated New Jersey was unwilling to leverage him in a trade, however.

Islanders Have Offered Extension To Kyle Palmieri

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10:39 a.m.: The Islanders have informed Palmieri he won’t be traded today, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. They’ll continue working on a deal, and although it may not be done before the deadline, they’re close enough to rule out a move. It’s likely to be a two-year or three-year deal worth less than his current $5MM AAV annually, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

9:37 a.m.: While the Islanders moved their top pending UFA late on Thursday when they dealt Brock Nelson to Colorado, it doesn’t mean the same fate is coming for their other veteran in the same situation.  David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that they’ve offered a two-year contract extension to winger Kyle Palmieri.  If an agreement can’t be reached, then the veteran is expected to be moved before today’s 2 PM CT deadline.

The 34-year-old is in the final season of a contract that carries a $5MM cap charge.  If he winds up being dealt, it’s quite likely that New York will need to retain the maximum of 50% to help facilitate a move, similar to what they did with Nelson.

After a couple of underwhelming seasons to start his tenure with the Isles, Palmieri has rebounded nicely over the last couple of years.  Last season, he bounced back with a 30-goal effort, matching his career high from back in 2015-16 while coming three points shy of matching his benchmark in points, also from the 2015-16 campaign.

While Palmieri isn’t producing at quite the same level this year, he still has 20 goals and 21 assists in 61 games, giving him a shot at another 50-point season.  He’s the type of player who would fit in well on the second line of a lot of contending teams so even if he’s swapped, he still should have a chance at logging close to the 18:13 of ice time he’s getting with New York.

With the pending increase to the salary cap and his production over the last couple of years, Palmieri should be in line for a raise on his current price tag.  But a two-year offer might not be long enough to his liking as it’s quite possible that he could get a longer offer if he goes to the open market in July.  We’ll soon see if New York’s offer is good enough to get something done or if he’ll be on the move over the next few hours.  If they pivot toward moving him, Palmieri does have a 16-team no-trade clause that could come into play.

Stars “Well Short” On Extension Offer For Mikko Rantanen

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Late last night, the biggest domino yet to fall at the deadline saw movement. Multiple reports indicate the Hurricanes and Stars have agreed on the framework of a deal to send star winger Mikko Rantanen to Dallas just weeks after Carolina paid a premium to acquire him from the Avalanche, but it’s contingent on Rantanen and the Stars being in agreement on an extension to keep the pending UFA around past this season.

Progress on that front is minimal, significantly limiting the likelihood of the trade getting across the finish line. Darren Dreger of TSN reports the Stars have offered Rantanen a long-term deal worth upward of $12MM per season, but that’s “well short” of the player’s ask.

The Hurricanes’ efforts to extend Rantanen were similarly unproductive, sparking intense trade discussion this week to avoid losing him for nothing this summer. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said last month they’d submitted an eight-year offer to Rantanen with a total value of at least $100MM, translating to an AAV of at least $12.5MM, but that he was unwilling to commit to the Carolina market.

Financials may not have been the principal issue with the Canes’ offer, but it does appear to be the issue with Dallas. Trade talks likely wouldn’t have advanced this far if Rantanen was generally disinterested in an extension with the Stars, so there’s presumably a price point at which Dallas can get this done without vastly overpaying on his market value. Whether the Stars, who need to conserve space for an extension for pending RFA Wyatt Johnston and potentially retaining captain Jamie Benn past this year, are willing to go much higher than their initial offer remains to be seen. Leading scorer Matt Duchene is also a pending UFA.

Dallas currently has $25.8MM in projected cap space for 2025-26 with nine open roster spots, per PuckPedia. An extension for Rantanen in the $13MM range annually, which is looking more like his demand, would leave the Stars with around $12.5MM in space for eight players, with Johnston likely to take at least 65-70% of that on his own. It’s not a feasible pickup for the Stars unless they’re willing to make some tough decisions about letting core pieces reach the open market or trading players with term off their roster.

Even if a Rantanen deal falls through, it’s hard to imagine Dallas is done for the day. They’ve still got holes at right defense that need filling, currently rolling out a trio of Cody Ceci, Mathew Dumba, and Ilya Lyubushkin while Miro Heiskanen is sidelined. For now, they’ve got a good deal of cap flexibility to accomplish it with Tyler Seguin and Nils Lundkvist on LTIR, both of whom are either likely or confirmed to be done for the regular season.

Capitals Acquire Anthony Beauvillier From Penguins

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The Capitals announced the acquisition pending UFA winger Anthony Beauvillier from the Penguins for their 2025 second-round pick. After losing Jakub Vrána on waivers to the Predators yesterday, Washington had an open roster spot, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Beauvillier, 27, spent less than an entire season with the Pens and now moves to his sixth team in the past three years. Pittsburgh signed him last offseason to a one-year, $1.25MM contract, and he’s played in every game this season aside from a healthy scratch in January. He has 13-7–20 in 63 appearances, including a minus-one rating and 120 shots on goal while averaging an even 13 minutes per game.

A first-round pick by the Islanders back in 2015, he hit the 20-goal mark in his sophomore season back in 2017-18 but hasn’t touched it since. He remained in New York until he headed to the Canucks in 2023 in the Bo Horvat deal. 2023-24 saw him change teams twice – first heading from Vancouver to Chicago via trade before the Blackhawks flipped him to the Predators at the deadline. Amid the movement, he had just 5-12–17 in 60 games and understandably took a significant pay cut last summer from his previous $4.15MM AAV.

With insane costs on the rental market this March, the Capitals turn to a more inexpensive pickup to address their need for an additional bottom-six winger – both in terms of acquisition cost and salary. Washington still has $3.175MM in flexibility after the pickup, per PuckPedia, so they may not be done adding to their roster. He’ll likely replace recent AHL call-up Ethen Frank in a bottom-six role and, while not a significant impact piece by any stretch, softens the blow of losing Vrána as a solid depth scorer on the waiver wire.

The Penguins now have a second-rounder in this year’s draft after trading theirs to the Canadiens in the 2023 Erik Karlsson three-team blockbuster. Washington, meanwhile, owns the Bruins’ second-rounder this year after acquiring it in the Dmitry Orlov deal at the 2023 deadline.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the trade. Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic was first on the return.

Kings Shopping Brandt Clarke

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The Kings are shopping 2021 No. 8 overall pick Brandt Clarke as they search for a needle-moving upgrade on the wing ahead of the deadline, per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

Clarke, 22, has yet to receive a legitimate run at top-four minutes on the Los Angeles blue line. This is really the defender’s first full-time NHL season in earnest, only appearing in nine games in 2022-23 and 16 in 2023-24. He had a golden opportunity to prove he could play higher up in the lineup when fellow righty Drew Doughty started the year on injured reserve following ankle surgery, but even then, he rarely received top-four deployment. He’s only played north of 20 minutes in a game eight times this season, all coming in October and November.

Nonetheless, the 6’2″ righty trudged on with great results in his limited usage. He leads the Kings’ blue line in scoring with 4-21–25 through 56 games, with a good chunk of that production coming at even strength. He was technically the Kings’ top power-play quarterback when Doughty was sidelined through late January, but the team’s man-advantage units have struggled with just a 15% success rate in 2024-25. His possession impacts against lesser competition at even strength are sterling, controlling 54.7% of shot attempts for the second-best share among defenders on the team behind Jordan Spence.

He’s still been chastised for a lack of physicality, registering 16 hits on the year. While he may not engage along the boards, that’s an unfair assessment. His 97 blocks are tied for second on the team behind Vladislav Gavrikov despite his third-pairing deployment, and unlike in other circumstances, that isn’t an indication of Clarke simply not being able to maintain possession of the puck at even strength. In essence, his performance in just 16:13 of average ice time per game this year paints a much rosier picture of Clarke’s two-way potential than some would otherwise caution. That makes his two healthy scratches in the Kings’ last three games a puzzling choice for a club that ranks 24th in goals per game and 19th in shots per game this season.

The Ottawa native is also extremely decorated outside of the NHL. Already an AHL and CHL All-Star with a World Juniors gold medal under his belt, he’s still got one year left on his entry-level contract and rightfully ranked as the top prospect in L.A.’s system by McKeen’s Hockey last fall. While no longer considered a prospect considering his emergence into a full-time NHL role, he ranks fifth among U-23 defensemen in scoring this season behind Jake Sanderson, Owen Power, Lane Hutson, and Luke Hughes.

Needless to say, he’ll be an extremely valuable asset and will comprise most of the return value if Kings general manager Rob Blake makes an aggressive push for a top-six winger like Brock Boeser or Brad Marchand.

Canadiens Unlikely To Move Both Joel Armia, David Savard

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The Canadiens are receiving high interest in pending UFAs Joel Armia and David Savard. With a playoff spot still in reach, though, they’re not likely to sell both players off before this afternoon’s deadline, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic writes.

That’s disappointing news for parties like the Jets, who David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports have a desire to acquire both. The Capitals and Oilers have also made inquiries on Armia, while the Maple Leafs have talked about picking up Savard from their chief rival to complement their blue line.

Montreal is just one point out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve played one more game than the Senators, who currently hold the spot. There are currently five teams within two points of each other in wild card contention, too, yielding playoff odds of only 14.8% for the Habs, per MoneyPuck. That’s the lowest of the teams in that bubble.

Armia, in particular, has been a significant driver of Montreal’s unexpected success this season. The 31-year-old winger has re-emerged as a bottom-six fixture after a tumultuous 2023-24 season, which saw him clear waivers and log his first minor-league action since the 2015-16 campaign. Since being added back to Montreal’s roster after his brief AHL stint to begin last year, the 6’3″ Finn has posted 27-22–49 in 127 games for a 17-goal, 32-point pace per 82 games. He’s done so while averaging about 15 minutes per game, serving on the Habs’ top penalty kill unit with the recently-extended Jake Evans. He’s also got a plus-three rating on a team with a cumulative -33 goal differential at 5v5 over the last two years.

He’s in the final year of a four-year, $13.6MM deal he signed with Montreal following his strong showing in their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Carrying a $3.4MM cap hit, interested parties may want some salary retention for a player who will factor into a third- or fourth-line role for them. Montreal has one retention slot left and is willing to use it this deadline for the right price, according to Pagnotta.

Savard has been less of an impact piece. His ice time has been slashed in what’s now his age-34 season, averaging under 18 minutes per game for the first time in a decade. The right-shot defender has 1-11–12 in 55 games this year, but grades out as Montreal’s worst possession player at even strength with a 41.7 CF% and 40.4 xGF%. He’s a highly low-event player. Montreal only allows 2.8 goals per 60 minutes with Savard on the ice at even strength, fourth on the team among players with at least 20 games. However, he’s becoming a significant enough liability offensively to cause concern. Montreal only generates 50.2 shot attempts per 60 with Savard on the ice at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick, the worst number on the team aside from Patrik Laine’s 50.1.

Blackhawks Discussing Extension With Ryan Donato

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As a pending unrestricted free agent, there has been an expectation that the Blackhawks would be moving forward Ryan Donato before today’s 2 PM CT trade deadline.  However, that might not be the case, as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are discussing a potential contract extension.  Even if an agreement on that front can’t be reached, LeBrun adds that teams have been told that Chicago won’t move him unless they’re blown away with an offer.

The 28-year-old is in the midst of a career year, tallying 23 goals and 23 assists in 60 games, buoyed by a 16.9 shooting percentage.  By comparison, his previous personal best in points in a season was 31.  Perhaps more impressively is that he has done so without a dramatic jump in playing time as Donato is logging just 15:30 per night.

Donato is in the final season of a two-year, $4MM contract signed with Chicago after Seattle non-tendered him back in 2022 to avoid giving him salary arbitration eligibility.  With the year he’s having, Donato appears to be well on his way to potentially doubling his current price tag if not more on his next deal.

In the meantime, GM Kyle Davidson has set a high asking price for Donato’s services.  Earlier this week, as relayed by All CHGO’s Mario Tirabassi, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that the Blackhawks are seeking a first-round pick to move Donato.  While that might seem lofty given his overall track record of being more than a depth scorer, Donato has been a legitimate top-six forward this season and his price tag from a salary cap perspective is much cheaper than many of the other top-six options out there.  Notably, Chicago has used its three retention slots so they won’t be able to pay down any of the contract to help facilitate a move.

Clearly, Chicago’s preference is to get Donato locked up to a new deal but even if that doesn’t happen, it appears as if there’s at least a chance he’ll remain with the Blackhawks for at least the rest of the season.

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