NHL Rumors: Sabres Close To Extension With Young Centerman

The Buffalo Sabre are getting a lot of production from their young players and are looking to continue to lock them up. Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson already have their long-term deals, and next up is Dylan Cozens. According to Chad DeDominicis, the Sabres have made good progress on a long-term contract extension with pending free restricted free agent Cozens.

Cozens will be coming off of his entry-level deal that has a cap hit of $894,167 and while nothing is done yet, there is progress and it wouldn't be surprising if his next cap hit is right around or just under Thompson's, which is $7.14 million AAV.

If the Sabres can get their top two centers locked up for seven to eight more years at a combined $14 million AAV, they will have major room to really build a contender soon.

Cozens will turn 22 in a few days and is in his third season in the NHL. He has quickly developed into a great core piece for the Sabres and has already surpassed his goals and points total from last season in just 49 games. Cozens has 17 goals and 43 points this season after 13 goals and 38 points in 2021-22. By the way he's progressing, an AAV at $7 million or less will be another steal for the Sabres for years to come.