The Senators have spent much of the offseason hunting for another top-six forward, and the search has left them right where they started. They moved one out by trading Brady Tkachuk and brought one back in by acquiring William Eklund, but the lineup still lacks that extra piece up front. General manager Steve Staios has not landed another top-six addition, and while Andre Burakovsky had looked like a possible reclamation project for the second line, Ottawa may already have a solution sitting in-house.
That solution could be Dylan Cozens.
Cozens is listed as the Senators’ second-line centre, but he already has experience on the wing. At the recent IIHF World Championship, he skated on Sidney Crosby’s wing for Team Canada.
Crosby obviously stayed in the middle, but the setup showed Cozens can handle the position and is comfortable there. He finished the tournament with four goals and seven points, and there were moments when he looked like a player ready to take another step.
Ottawa has seen flashes of that before. Last season, Cozens also had stretches alongside Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson, and he put together the second-best statistical season of his career in 2025-26. In all 82 games, he scored 28 goals and added 31 assists.
The appeal of moving him to the wing is pretty straightforward: Cozens has a big shot, and when he gets to use it, it can beat goalies cleanly. His one-timer on the power play gave Ottawa another layer of danger this season.
Put him on a wing with Stützle, and that shot becomes an even bigger problem for opposing defenses. There’s also a strong case for a second line built around Cozens, Shane Pinto, and Batherson.
Pinto just posted the best season of his career, finishing with 23 goals and 23 assists. But his value goes well beyond the scoresheet.
He was elite defensively, finishing sixth in Selke Trophy voting and picking up eight first-place votes. Cozens also drew Selke consideration, placing 31st in the voting, just behind Crosby.
If Pinto is given more room to attack while Cozens shifts to the wing and Batherson completes the line, Ottawa could end up with one of the league’s most dangerous second units.
For a team that has been hearing plenty about how it “lost the offseason,” that would be the cleanest answer of all. If Cozens opens the season on the wing and starts producing, the Senators can flip the conversation fast and show why they didn’t need to chase another top-six forward.
In Other News...
This Senators Summer Just Became A Loyalty Test
Claude Giroux is back in Ottawa, and for the Senators that makes this a little more than a routine summer roster update. After a stretch of team changes, his return brings back a familiar veteran presence and a reminder that his decision to come here in the first place was about more than just a stopover. For a club trying to steady its identity, having Giroux back in the fold matters in ways that go beyond the score sheet.
The timing only sharpens the sense that this summer is asking Senators fans to sort through what loyalty means around the organization. Daniel Alfredssons departure from his role and the Ottawa Charges permanent move to Canadian Tire Centre both add to a season of transition, with one familiar face leaving and another coming home while the building itself becomes even more central to the citys hockey picture. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Give Tyler Boucher Another Chance To Silence Doubts
Tyler Boucher is getting another runway in the Senators organization, a reminder that his path has been defined as much by patience as by promise. Ottawa general manager Steve Staios signed the 2021 first-round pick to a one-year, two-way contract for the upcoming season, keeping the winger in the fold as the club continues to sort out how much ceiling he still has to reach.
Boucher spent last season with the Belleville Senators, where he played 47 games and supplied 12 goals and 14 assists, a solid step for a player still trying to establish momentum. For Ottawa, the hope is straightforward: stay healthy, keep developing, and turn a prospect once viewed as a big swing into someone who can eventually matter at the NHL level. [Read more 🡒]