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Tyson Kozak

#48 · Centre · Buffalo Sabres

Born Dec 29, 2002 in Souris, Manitoba, CAN (age 23) · 5'11", 187 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 193rd overall in 2021 by BUF (round 7)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2024-25. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Fraser Minten BOS · 5 P in 21 GP Rodrigo Abols PHI · 5 P in 22 GP Olle Lycksell PHI · 5 P in 19 GP Liam Ohgren MIN · 5 P in 24 GP Vinni Lettieri BOS · 5 P in 26 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02462024-25: 5 points524-252025-26: 6 points625-262026-27: 0 points026-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2024-25 BUF 21 3 2 5 -2 2 11 26 0.24 $850K
2025-26 BUF 46 2 4 6 -1 2 30 120 0.13 $775K
2026-27 BUF 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 0.00 $875K
3 seasons Career 68 5 6 11 -4 4 41 147 0.16

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2025-26 BUF 6 0 1 1 2 0 6 12 0.17
1 season Playoffs 6 0 1 1 2 0 6 12 0.17

2024-25 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
21 3 2 5 -2 2 11 26 0.24 27.3 10:29

Contract

$850KCap hitends in 2025, then RFA
$170KCap dollars per point5 points in 21 games
$707KCap dollars per goal above replacement1.2 goals above replacement
$1.7MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$851KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 698 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Aug 19, 2022, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.55M, beginning in 2022-23. It runs through 2024-25, so this is its last season, after which he is a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2022-23 $850K $750K $83K $833K
2023-24 $850K $775K $86K $861K
2024-25 $850K $775K $81K $856K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2025 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2025-26 to 2027-28 3 $2.525M $775K
Aug 19, 2022 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2022-23 to 2024-25 3 $2.55M $850K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2024-25 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2024-25 analytics

Rating

+1.2Goals above replacement442nd of 698 skaters, 295th of 456 forwards
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 456 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-1.4 31st percentileEven-strength defence+1.3 72nd percentilePower play+0.2 76th percentilePenalty kill0.0 27th percentilePenalties+0.5 60th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.

-1.5-1-0.500.511.52024-252025-262026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

43.1Corsi for %162 attempts for, 214 against
-5.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
38.7Expected goals for %5.1 expected for, 8.1 against
-7.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
45.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
45.5Goals for %5 for, 6 against
100.0PDO6.6% shooting + 93.4% saves
34Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Sam Lafferty · Beck Malenstyn · Tyson Kozak1059:5739.842.81-0
Nicolas Aube-Kubel · Beck Malenstyn · Tyson Kozak325:3043.643.12-1
Alex Tuch · Dylan Cozens · Tyson Kozak218:0848.762.60-0
Beck Malenstyn · Isak Rosen · Tyson Kozak313:2560.943.30-0

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

3Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.8Expected goalsfrom 27 unblocked attempts
+1.2Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.50 expected goals per 60 minutes12th
Shot quality 6.8% chance per attempt20th
Finishing +1.2 goals above expected66thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 428 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0123Game 20Goals 3Expected 1.8

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 1, 2025 @ OTT W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 05:46
Mar 30, 2025 @ WSH W 8-5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12:25
Mar 29, 2025 @ PHI L 4-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10:36
Mar 27, 2025 vs PIT W 7-3 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 09:07
Mar 25, 2025 vs OTT W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 10:47
Mar 23, 2025 @ WPG W 5-3 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 13:12
Mar 22, 2025 @ MIN L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 11:07
Mar 20, 2025 @ UTA L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 13:33
Mar 17, 2025 @ BOS W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10:07
Mar 15, 2025 vs VGK W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 09:04
Jan 31, 2025 vs NSH W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10:02
Jan 28, 2025 vs BOS W 7-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 09:08
Jan 23, 2025 @ CGY L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:04
Jan 21, 2025 @ VAN W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:06
Jan 17, 2025 vs PIT L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 07:04
Jan 15, 2025 vs CAR W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 12:16
Jan 11, 2025 vs SEA L 2-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 09:44
Jan 9, 2025 @ OTT W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 07:23
Dec 9, 2024 vs DET L 5-6 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 09:11
Dec 7, 2024 vs UTA L 2-5 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 12:09
Dec 5, 2024 vs WPG L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 08:26