Will Buffalo Sabres Fans Be Cheering or Booing Dylan Cozens?

How will Sabres fans react to his return to Buffalo after being traded?

Dylan Cozens was a promising player for the Buffalo Sabres. He was drafted by them 7th overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft and quickly appeared on the main roster just one season later. The “Workhorse from Whitehorse” was instantly a fan favorite for his physical and hard-working style. In fact, early on, some insiders expected him to become a captain of this team someday. In his third NHL season, he exploded for 31 goals and 68 points in 81 games. The Sabes narrowly missed the playoffs, and while the longest playoff drought in the NHL continued, it looked ot be finally about to end with players like Cozens blossoming. It looked like the 7th overall pick was going to work out perfectly for the Sabres, who signed him to a 7-year, $49.7 million contract in 2023.

Then it fell completely apart. Will they cheer or boo him? Keep scrolling ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Cozens followed up his 31-goal, 68-point campaign with only 18 goals and 47 points as the Sbares took a step back and missed the playoffs again. They fired coach Don Granato and hired Lindy Ruff, who, of course, Sabres fans know well and has a good reputation around the NHL as a quality coach. Hopes were high that Cozens simply had an off year, like most of the team seemed to have.

However, Cozens did not return to his form of the 2022-23 season. He struggled all year to score, seemed lost on defense, often would not stick up for teammates, and the physical workhorse play that fans loved him for completely disappeared. He looked checked out, lost, and unmotivated as the Sabres sank to the bottom of the league standings once again.

Cozens was traded at the deadline to Ottawa for Josh Norris, among other pieces. He is now thriving in Ottawa, playing the game fans loved him for, scoring goals, and making a difference for a team that likely will make the playoffs. Norris is injured, which has been the story of his career. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact. The hope is that he gets healthy for next season, as he is a high-impact player when healthy. Some argue Norris has a much higher upside than Cozens, but time will tell.

Cozens told the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski he wanted badly to make it work here and that some of his best friends are still in Buffalo. He spoke about how much he dreamed of making the Fans of Buffalo rabid for hockey again.

Cozens returns to Buffalo tonight for the first time since being traded.

Will Buffalo Sabres Fans Be Cheering or Booing Dylan Cozens?

We posed the question on Facebook to see what fans would say. After all, it will be interesting to see how fans react to him. For example, when Jack Eichel was traded, fans were (and remain) vicious against him. This is due to comments he made after being traded that upset fans. Cozens has said nothing bad about Buffalo or the fans, but some are angry about the way it ended, where he seemed to give up.

But judging by the Facebook comments, fans will be welcoming him back more than anything.

Judging by this, the overwhelming majority of people will be cheering Cozens tonight.

Most people blame the Sabres, and you can't blame them for that. The team has been a mess, and there are no answers in sight for how they will fix their problems.

Personally, I think Cozens gave up, and I won't be cheering for him. While I'm not a fan of Eichel, his wanting a neck surgery that seemed perfectly reasonable but the Sabres denied, leading to his trade, was a better look than Cozens' actions. He watched teammates get beaten up and did nothing. He played totally lost, and the idea that a coach like Lindy Ruff can't get through to him is ridiculous to me. That's a choice of his, not of the team's. To me, he played himself out of Bufflao on purpose, and that sucks.

However, I'm clearly in the minority here.

The Sabres host the Senators at KeyBank Center tonight at 7 pm.

What do you think of Cozens? Let me know: Pat@WBUF.com

The way things have been going for the Sabres, we could all use a good drink. How about an Old Fashion? Here are the best spots ot get one in WNY: