Dylan Cozens is already giving the Senators something they can use in a few different ways.
He can stay at centre. He can move to the wing. And no matter where Ottawa drops him in the lineup, his value goes well beyond the goals and points column.
Last season was Cozens’ first full year in an Ottawa uniform, and it was his most rounded NHL season yet. He finished with 28 goals and 59 points, numbers that didn’t top his 2022-23 line of 31 goals and 68 points, but still marked the second-highest total of his career. More importantly for Ottawa, he fit into one of the league’s toughest defensive groups and handled that responsibility in a way the surface stats don’t fully show.
The plus/minus number will always follow him around - he was a dash player for the seventh straight season - but that doesn’t tell the full story. Evolving-Hockey’s Total Defence metric, which blends five-on-five and shorthanded defensive work, had Cozens as the Senators forward with the biggest defensive impact last season. HockeyViz data pointed in the same direction.
A lot of that came from the line he played on. Cozens logged 319 minutes at five-on-five with Brady Tkachuk and Ridly Greig, and among all NHL lines that played at least 300 minutes, no trio was better than that group’s 66.56 xGF%. Ottawa’s structure and the puck movement from the blue line mattered, but the line also did a lot of its damage the old-fashioned way: size, competitiveness and a heavy cycle game that kept shifts alive in the offensive zone and wore opponents down.
That trio isn’t intact anymore, though. Tkachuk’s move to the Sunshine State broke it up, and Ridly Greig has spent camp getting work at centre. Cozens, meanwhile, has been skating between Fabian Zetterlund and newly acquired William Eklund, and the early signs have been encouraging.
He said the group has found something quickly.
“We've been clicking pretty well out there,” Cozens told reporters earlier this week. “We're just using our speed, using our legs, and finding each other. Obviously, those two guys have some chemistry, so just trying to mix in with that.”
That chemistry isn’t accidental. Zetterlund and Eklund already have history from their time in San Jose, including more than 200 five-on-five minutes together in 2023-24, when Zetterlund posted career highs of 24 goals and 44 points.
Ottawa has been waiting for more from Zetterlund since acquiring him in the waning seconds of the 2025 trade deadline, and the hope is that a familiar partner can help him find another gear after a stop-and-start run with the Senators. In 100 career games in Ottawa, he has 19 goals and 38 points.
Cozens sees how the pieces fit.
“(Eklund)’s really good at finding the open guy,” Cozens said while explaining how Eklund complements the line. “For me and (Zetterlund), we both can rip the puck pretty good. So we just find those open spots for him so we can shoot the puck and he can find us.
“Even (Eklund) can rip the puck too. We're just trying to open up space for each other by using our speed.”
There’s also a stylistic shift here. Last year, Cozens’ line thrived by leaning on the wall game, holding pucks, grinding low and slowly breaking opponents down. He knows that formula well.
“Last year our line was pretty good at wearing teams down,” he admitted. “We used our bodies to hold on to pucks, cycle it low, protect it, and grind them down. That's how we found a lot of success.
“That’s how me and (Greig) want to play this year and continue that. Maybe playing with a smaller guy like (Eklund), maybe I'll do more of that grinding in the corners.
But, he's pretty strong. He can do that too.”
The physical edge has always been part of Cozens’ profile. He led the Senators with 215 hits last season, and he and Zetterlund were two of six Ottawa forwards to finish with at least 10 goals and 100 hits. That mix of speed and heaviness is exactly why the Senators are intrigued by what this line could become.
Still, the pressure is on. With Tkachuk gone, Cozens has to help replace the line’s old identity and prove he can keep driving play without the power forward beside him.
He joked about maybe needing to learn Swedish to help the communication along, but Ottawa also has another option if this setup stalls. Travis Green has enough roster flexibility to change the look, and Greig has been getting work at centre. The organization has made it clear it likes the depth it has down the middle, with Cozens, Tim Stützle, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig and Stephen Halliday giving the team plenty of choices.
Cozens has already shown he can handle different roles. At the World Championships, he played wing alongside Macklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby, and he didn’t sound married to staying at centre when asked if he’d be open to that again in Ottawa.
“They know that I'd be open to it, and if that's where they think our team is going to be the best, then you know I'm good to do that,” Cozens stated. “They know I'm open to it, and we'll see what happens.”
That kind of flexibility may matter most if the Senators need more from their wings early on. Ottawa’s centre depth is a strength, while natural goal scoring from the wing looks like the softer spot. If that becomes a problem, sliding Cozens to the outside would be the obvious adjustment.
For now, though, he’s in the middle, chemistry is building, and the Senators are testing what this new-look forward group can be. And Cozens, as always, is ready to fit wherever they need him.
In Other News...
Senators Let Late Lead Slip But One Early Sign Stood Out
The Senators preseason opener in Quebec City offered a little of everything, from an early jolt of offense to the kind of late-game wobble that can still be filed away as August exhibition hockey. Dylan Cozens and William Eklund scored for Ottawa in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens at the Centre Vidotron, while Samuel Ersson stopped 33 shots and gave the club a long look at a goalie who had to work through plenty of traffic.
For president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios, the result mattered less than the tone, and there was reason for Ottawa to like parts of what it saw. The Senators looked organized enough to build a lead and competitive enough to carry a preseason game into overtime, even if the finish slipped away, and Staios pointed to the exhibition setting as a reminder that this was about process more than points. [Read more 🡒]
Sens Preseason Opener Offered Promise And One Early Reality Check
The Senators preseason opener in Trois-Rivires had the feel of a useful first test, with Ottawa jumping ahead and showing the kind of early chemistry coaches want to see in September. William Eklund and Dylan Cozens were part of the opening push, and for stretches the Senators had enough going to make it look like the night might belong to them before the game settled into a tougher rhythm.
Montreal took control as the game wore on, though, and the shot count told the story well before the final whistle. The Canadiens generated far more of the play and eventually left with a 3-2 overtime win, a result that gave Ottawa a reminder of how much polish still needs to come in camp even after a promising start. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Open Preseason With One Roster Battle Fans Will Watch Closely
The Senators get their preseason underway against Montreal, and the early focus is already less on the result than on how a few important pieces fit together. Ottawa has been sorting through camp combinations, with Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund drawing attention as part of a group that has looked connected in practice, while Andre Burakovsky is trying to bounce back after a tough previous season and reestablish himself in a meaningful role.
Carter Yakemchuk also enters the opener with something to prove, as the young defenseman is battling for a regular roster spot and needs to show he can hold up better without the puck. In a game like this, the Senators are not just checking off preseason boxes. They are using it to measure who is ready to push deeper into the lineup and who still has work to do before opening night arrives. [Read more 🡒]