Where will the former 7th overall pick end up?
Both the Buffalo Sabres and the Nashville Predators have been extremely disappointing teams this season.
The two teams were expected to push for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot this season, but have come out of the gates dreadfully and are currently languishing in the basement of the NHL’s standings. The playoffs look like a pipe dream for both of these teams unless they make some serious changes ASAP.
Cue a potentially franchise altering deal for both squads.
Preds insider Marco D’Amico reports today that the team is trying to acquire forward Dylan Cozens from the Sabres, but they’ve stopped short of offering up star forward Steven Stamkos in a package deal.
“I know they’ve spoken to the Sabres and one of the players they like is Cozens,” D’Amico reports. “They’re looking for at least a middle-six center and, if they can, a top-four defenseman,” he continued. “They’re going to have to move roster players for both, and they know that.”
As far as Stamkos goes, D’Amico reports that neither the team nor the player are looking to make a change right now.
The Predators aren’t the only team tied to Cozens in trade rumors, however.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman linked the Vancouver Canucks to the Sabres in a wild trade proposal that would see star center Elias Pettersson shipped to Buffalo for Cozens and BC-born defenseman Bowen Byram. Personally, I don’t see the Canucks making such a risky move for so little return. Cozens and Byram are appealing players, but the Canucks are in ‘win now’ mode and I don’t see them immediately improving from this particular trade proposal.
There are also reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are interested in Cozens, which honestly makes a lot of sense to me. The Blackhawks are also off to a disappointing start to their season, but they’re still in the chapter of their rebuilding where they are acquiring top end young talent. Put Cozens on a wing with Connor Bedard and beautiful things could happen.
Read below for our earlier report on the Sabres and their transaction with goaltender Devon Levi today.
On a day where Buffalo Sabres fans were hoping for big changes they got… an AHL demotion.
Sabres owner Terry Pegula, general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff held an all-organization meeting with the team’s players today where Pegula reportedly reiterated to the players that big changes will not be coming. Sure, the team has lost 10 games straight and looks like they’re going to miss the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season, but Pegula’s not ready to pull the trigger just yet.
Alrighty then…
So, what did the Sabres do today?
The scapegoated top prospect Devon Levi by shipping him back to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
Levi made 36 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. The 22 year old has struggled in his short time with the Sabres but… who hasn’t? He has a 3.24 GAA and an .896 save percentage in 38 games with the Sabres across parts of two seasons, but that’s more of an indictment on the entire team. The Sabres are not good and Levi has struggled behind a poor team.
Meanwhile in the AHL, Levi has been outstanding. He sports a 2.80 GAA and a .916 save percentage with 7 wins in 9 starts so far this season. In my opinion the team would be wise to leave him in Rochester the entire season where he can dominate the AHL and build up his confidence. Bring him back to the big club once they’ve addressed some of their more glaring issues.
For our earlier report published by Hockey Feed staff writer Jonathan Larrivee on the Sabres and today’s announcement from owner Terry Pegula, read below.
All signs pointed to a big shift coming to the Buffalo Sabres organization on Monday morning and based on the responses to those rumors it seems as though a big shift would have been something welcomed by a very frustrated Buffalo Sabres fan base. Unfortunately I must report that it seems as though those rumors were largely unfounded, with reports now indicating that Sabres owner Terry Pegula has once again left fans in Buffalo sorely disappointed.
A report from National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli has confirmed the rumor that was circulating this morning, one that suggested Pegula was traveling to Montreal to personally speak to the players on the Sabres roster, but it appears that Pegula’s message to the locker room was not one of impending change but instead one that reinforced the status quo in Buffalo. Seravalli reports that Pegula expressed his faith in general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff to the Sabres players and suggested that the solution to the team’s current woes had to come from within.
The unfortunate reality for the Sabres however is that they have won just 11 of their first 31 games this season including their current 10 game winless streak in which the team has gone 0-7-3 with no signs of the players or the organization righting was is a rapidly sinking ship.
In fact it seems as though the most significant outcome of today’s meeting was the Sabres practice being cancelled.
The response to this latest report from Seravalli has not been positive, and that is putting it very mildly, with several angry fans expressing their displeasure at the news. Here are just a few examples:
Despite the protest from fans it seems clear that Pegula does not intend to make any major changes at this point in time but I do wonder how long that will remain true if the Sabres continue their losing ways.
