Senators acquire Cozens, Gilbert from Sabres for Norris, Bernard-Docker

Steve Staios shook up his roster core ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

The Ottawa Senators general manager acquired Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres for fellow centre Josh Norris in a blockbuster move Friday.

Ottawa also shipped defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker out of town in the swap that saw the Senators gain blueliner Dennis Gilbert and a second-round pick at the 2026 NHL draft.

Cozens, a 24-year-old carrying a salary cap hit of US$7.1 million through 2029-30, has 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points across 61 games this season.

The six-foot-three, 207-pound Whitehorse native picked seventh overall in 2019 has registered 77 goals and 120 assists for 197 points in 341 career regular-season games.

Norris, meanwhile, put up 20 goals and 13 assists in 53 games with Ottawa in 2024-25. He has 90 goals and 66 assists in 236 career games — all with the Senators — after coming to the nation's capital as part of the Erik Karlsson trade with the San Jose Sharks in 2018.

But the 25-year-old carrying a $7.95-million cap hit for the next five seasons has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career — including three separate shoulder injuries that required surgery.

Ottawa hasn't made the playoffs since 2017 despite a boatload of talent led by captain Brady Tkachuk and star centre Tim Stutzle that's been accumulated through a long rebuild.

The Senators (31-25-5) currently hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Sabres (24-31-6) sit in the basement and are on course to miss the playoffs for a 14th straight season.

The move was the first big one with Friday's deadline set for 3 p.m. ET after several GMs made splashes in the days leading up to the cutoff.

The Florida Panthers added defenceman Seth