Next Man Up With Senators’ Josh Norris Out Long Term

Senators’ head coach D.J. Smith handed out the terrible news their fans didn’t want to hear Wednesday, announcing Josh Norris‘ left shoulder injury will leave him out of the lineup long term.

It’s a tough blow for Norris who sustained a non-contact injury off a draw Saturday versus the Arizona Coyotes. The centre appeared to wince and instantly drop to the ice as the puck was being dropped.

The 23-year-old required season-ending surgery on the same shoulder in 2019 while playing at the University of Michigan, and missed 15 games last season after slamming into the boards, again injuring his left side.

Smith said post-practice Wednesday, “No timeline yet, long-term – different injury than the last one, same shoulder. Is he going to require surgery or not? We’re in the middle of that right now, or it’s a rehab situation. We’ll know a little more in the next four-five days, but it’s long-term… At some point, if we get him back, great.”

Josh Norris who led the club with 35 goals in only 66 games last season, had tallied his first of the 2022-23 campaign earlier in the game Saturday and was just starting to reach a comfort level skating between forwards Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux.

The Michigan resident was also a key component on the Senators’ power play and penalty kill. Norris’ 2:15 time-on-ice per game on the PK ranks second to Tyler Motte (3:03) among the teams’ forwards.

“He’s one of our best players. He’s our most responsible centreman at this point of his career. He has the ability to play against elite players and can score. He can do a lot of things. If you take that player out of a lot of team’s lineups, it changes the dynamic. If you just look around our division, if you take everyone’s one or two centre out, look what happens. In saying that, we’ve got no time to worry about that. We’ve just got to be better. Everyone underneath has got to be a little better,” noted the Senators’ head coach.

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The Senators were victorious Monday, a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars in their first outing minus Norris.

Derick Brassard was called upon as the first man up to replace Norris’ spot in the lineup. The free agent signee out of training camp filled in admirably. adding a goal in 16:08 of ice time on a line with DeBrincat and Giroux.

At age 35, it’s too early to project if Brassard can sustain a second-line pivot role for an extended time. Especially for the remainder of the season. However, as a short-term solution, “Big Game Brass” may bode well in his second go-round with the club.

The bonus of general manager Pierre Dorion’s signing of Brassard is that he can play anywhere throughout the Senators’ lineup whether it’s on the wing or up the middle.

Shane Pinto may also receive some reps depending on the situation play. Pinto opened the season between Debrincat and Giroux on the power play, providing some familiarity with the pair of forwards.

Mark Kastelic could elevate from fourth-line centre duty to third, if necessary. The league’s hottest rookie scorer lands on line two.

An alternate option is to move Giroux, a natural centre that takes faceoffs on a regular basis, to the middle. This will allow Mathieu Joseph to slide into the second-line right-wing slot.

Then there’s the situation regarding restricted free agent Alex Formenton who remains unsigned. Ideally, Formenton would’ve already been playing, and could’ve very well been skating on the left or right side of Giroux at centre with DeBrincat on one of the wings.

Formenton’s future is still to be determined. The former London Knight attended a Hockey Canada Gala event in 2018 where a rape of a woman allegedly took place. The London Police have yet to conclude their investigation into the Canadian World Junior roster of which Formenton was a member at that time.

The Senators and Formenton’s agent Wade Arnott are bound not to discuss the investigation publicly.

Lastly, Dorion may seek to acquire a player currently on an expiring contract, but that remains to be seen and is further down the line.

And who knows as Smith noted Wednesday, is long-term “three, four, five months?” Only time will tell how long Josh Norris will be out of the Senators lineup.