Ottawa Senators make blockbuster deadline deal, landing Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris

Steve Staios sent shockwaves through the Ottawa Senators dressing room on Friday morning.

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The club’s president of hockey operations and general manager made a huge move by sending centre Josh Norris and defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Buffalo Sabres in a deal that brought back forward Dylan Cozens and defenceman Dennis Gilbert in return.

The move made just before the NHL trade deadline on Friday caught the club’s dressing room off guard and captain Brady Tkachuk fought back tears as he spoke to the media.

“Yeah, it’s pretty tough,” an emotional Tkachuk said. “It sucks. Losing a guy like that. Everybody knows how much he means to me. Next question.”

Tkachuk said goodbye to Norris before he left the building.

“I just spent the last little bit with him to kind of take advantage of every little minute we have today,” Tkachuk said.

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The players were hitting the ice at the Bell Sensplex when they were informed of the move just before practice. Coach Travis Green called the players into a meeting to let them know.

“It’s the unfortunate reality of this being a business,” Tkachuk said. “We’re getting back important pieces that are really going to help us. It sucks and it’s part of it. With (Cozens and Gilbert), we’re going to welcome them with open arms.

“I feel bad a little bit that this is the initial reaction. They’re going to understand why it’s a little bit of a whirlwind for me personally. That being said, it’s all about being a good captain, and a good teammate and making sure that they have everything that they need.

“(They’ll) have support right from day one and they’re going to be important pieces.”

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Cozen is the centrepiece of the deal. He’s in the second season of a seven-year contract that pays him  $7.1 million US annually.

The 24-year-old has 11 goals and 31 points in 61 games with the Sabres this year, but he will make the Senators harder to play against.

“He’s a big centre that can score and can play a physical game as well,” Green said. “He’s got huge upside.”

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Goaltender Linus Ullmark played with Cozens in Buffalo and is a fan.

“The workhorse from Whitehorse,” Ullmark said. “He’s a great kid. He’s a young centre who hasn’t been getting everything out of (himself). There is a lot of potential and hopefully, we can help him thrive.”

Gilbert has suited up for 25 games with the Sabres this season.

“You get some toughness with Dennis,” Green said. “A guy I’ve probably seen a bit more when he was in Calgary and he’s got some stiffness in his game. He’s a guy that’s hard to play against.

“If you’re going to make a trade like that you’re going to give up some good players as well.”

Norris’ name had surfaced on the trade market in the past few days because other teams were looking for help in the middle and Staios wasn’t opposed to moving his $7.95-million cap hit through 2026-27.

But it was believed it would be hard to get that contract off the books, however, there was no shortage of interest.

It’s believed Staios also had serious discussions with the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks in a trade regarding Norris. The Nashville deal fell apart late on Thursday night, league sources told Postmedia.

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“This wasn’t just about (having more of an edge). You’re talking about two young centres who have just flipped teams that are good in the league,” Green said. “Both have huge upsides.

“Dylan is going to bring us a little bit of a different element but he’s also a highly-skilled player. Dennis brings a physical element that is still part of the game.”

Green knows this is difficult on his team and that’s why he spoke to them before the club skated. Norris and Bernard-Docker were both dressed and ready to head over to Bell Sensplex when they were told to stay back at the Canadian Tire Centre.

“Anytime you get to this day, I don’t know if there is any perfect timing, but when you’ve got to pull two players from practice from the group it’s pretty obvious why,” Green said. “It’s a tight-knit group and it’s going to affect friendships as well.

“You just have to talk about it. It’s not easy when you have to say goodbye to friends and welcome new players as well. That is part of the business that is hard as a player.”

Ullmark summed it best about what days like Friday can mean.

“It can be exciting and it can be devastating,” Ullmark said. “There is a lot of personal relationships on this team and whenever there is a player getting dealt it really, really sucks for the people closest to them. That’s the business we’re dealing with and the cards we’ve been dealt.”

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