Sabres agree to terms with Cozens on 7-year contract extension

Dylan Cozens delivered one of the signature moments of the Sabres' season to date last month, after the team had retired the number of beloved former goaltender Ryan Miller. Cozens scored the overtime winner that night on a breakaway, sending a sold-out KeyBank Center into a frenzy.
Afterward, Cozens gave the game-winning stick to Miller's son, Bodhi, and talked about what it meant to him to play in Buffalo.
"It's just a great feeling," Cozens said.

There are more moments to come. The Sabres and Cozens, 22, agreed to terms Tuesday on a seven-year contract extension worth $49.7 million.
The Sabres have now signed three members of their core to seven-year contracts in the past six months, all of whom are under the age of 26. Tage Thompson, 25, signed a $50 million contract in August. Mattias Samuelsson, 22, signed for $30 million in October.

Cozens, the seventh-overall pick by the Sabres in 2019, is having a career year in his third NHL season. He has 17 goals and 43 points in 49 games, both eclipsing the career-best totals he set in 79 contests last season. His 0.88 points per game ranks second among players from his draft class, behind first-overall selection Jack Hughes.
Cozens endeared himself to Buffalo early with his combination of speed, skill, and a workmanlike attitude. He memorably fought the New York Rangers' Ryan Lindgren as a 20-year-old rookie in 2021. Last season, he delivered a crushing open-ice hit on Toronto's Auston Matthews late in the outdoor Heritage Classic, then banged on the glass as a spectator while his teammates put the finishing touches on a victory.
Cozens took steps toward a leadership role in the offseason, watching Rochester Americans playoff games from a suite and later driving to visit prospects during development camp in July. He spent the majority of this season centering two rookies in JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn, both of whom have credited Cozens with easing their transitions to the NHL.

Cozens matched his off-ice maturity with physical growth. Teammates and coaches praised him for looking and playing beyond his years shortly after training camp opened in September.
Sabres coach Don Granato attributes Cozens' success to one factor above all.
"I keep saying the same thing about him, it's compete," Granato said in December. "Just couple that with love of the game that he has, the love of the game hockey. He competes for the right reason being in a team sport. He brings guys in with him, he drags people into the fight, per se, which is a real indicator of his leadership and leadership ability going forward.
"There's so many things, so many elements for Dylan. … We can assess his skill set, and I guess that's somewhat simple and getting better by the day. But it's the intangibles that separate him."