One reason the Chicago Blackhawks likely will not land Dylan Cozens in a trade

The Chicago Blackhawks have been listed as a team that could be an ideal trade partner for the Buffalo Sabres if they look to deal Dylan Cozens.

It makes sense, given the Blackhawks have one of the best farm systems in the NHL, along with a good amount of draft capital they can draw from.

Sabres team owner Terry Pegula is ruling out trading players right now despite Buffalo racing to the bottom. That is not the reason the Blackhawks will not end up with a player ideal for the Hawks accelerating their rebuild.

The Hawks will likely not get Cozens in a deal because the Sabres are in a 13-year playoff drought.

That drought is tied for the longest in all of American sports. It feels like Buffalo has been in a forever rebuilding.

If the Sabres decided to trade one of their best assets, they might be interested in dealing for talented NHL players already making an impact.

Sportsnet's NHL insider Elliotte Friedman threw out the Sabres dealing Cozens to Vancouver for Elias Pettersson. This was more Friedman speculating, but with a guy who is tapped into the league, it gives an idea of what the Sabres might want back.

Sorry, folks, the Sabres are not going to be interested in trying to revive Philipp Kurashev's career.

If a four-time All-Star coming back to Buffalo is what it will take for the Sabres to trade a 23-year-old center signed through the rest of the decade at a $7.1 million cap hit who has scored 72 goals and 107 assists in five seasons, then the Blackhawks just cannot match that type of offer.

They could blow teams out of the water if Buffalo was interested in a package of prospects and picks. Taking back a potential deal of Frank Nazar, Kevin Korchinski, and a couple of other prospects in the team's top 10 might not end the Sabres drought as soon as possible.

It is going to be a large cost to pay to get Cozens out of Buffalo. He would be a nice addition to the Blackhawks since he has the size at center the team is lacking.

If Buffalo was trying to rebuild after a contention window ending, then you have to like the Hawks' chances. That is not the case, considering kids born during the season the Sabres last made the playoffs are teenagers. When a team has not been to a postseason in such a long time, then thinking switches to trying to end this dry spell ASAP.

The problem is the Hawks' assets do not match up with Buffalo's desire to end that drought sooner rather than later.