There are a lot of factors that will come into play for the Buffalo Sabres when the 2025-26 season begins. One of the biggest question marks for them is going to be the health and performance of fresh face Josh Norris, who they acquired from the Ottawa Senators on March 7, 2025, for Dylan Cozens. So far, his career has been steadily mired by injuries, while also showing flashes of brilliance along that same timeframe. The Sabres are in desperate need of a game-changing player to step up and make that difference on a nightly basis, and Norris has the potential to be that player.
Since becoming a full-time NHL player with the Senators in 2020-21, Norris has enjoyed a fair amount of success and has been a very reliable top-six scoring forward with some very underrated versatility to boot. While he has not yet played a single full NHL season (piquing at 66 games in the 2021-22 season) in the sample size he has provided, he has shown to be a goal scorer first with 91 career goals to his 67 assists, a power play threat (60 of his career 158 points are on the power play), an accurate shooter (18.2% career accuracy), and a steady faceoff man (52.5% career win rate). The Sabres may not have much trouble scoring at even strength, but adding someone who can put the puck in the net with the man advantage and win some draws in every scenario will be invaluable to them.
If the Sabres can find a way to have their strength and conditioning department focus in and keep him healthy enough to play 75 or more games, it would make a world of difference. Considering in the one season where he played the most games (again, 66 games in 2021-21) he scored 35 goals and amassed 55 points in that span, while contributing 16 power play tallies, he could absolutely contribute similar numbers on this Sabres team that has more playmaking and finishing weapons than the Senators team from that season. The key is keeping him healthy and letting him do what he does best.
With how versatile Norris is, using him in all situations will be severely tempting for head coach Lindy Ruff. As a coach that likes to focus on his defensive aspect first before making a transition to offense, this could potentially lead to Ruff overusing Norris as he tries to stretch what he can do across both special teams, and still giving him top-six playing time. More playing time means more chances for his body to wear down and get hurt, and that trade-off is not worth the risk when he provides much more value as an offensive player than a defensive one. With some fairly capable defensive forwards already on the roster, including Ryan McLeod who was just locked down for a significant amount of time, hopefully it will dissuade any notions of overusing Norris.
Keeping his role focused on winning draws and being an offensive scoring threat should be the task at hand. That does not mean holding him back from his defensive capabilities, but it does mean that Ruff should be focused on deploying Norris primarily in offensive scenarios. This means using him on the first power-play unit to give them some new options, and as their second line center to work in tandem with another player with a similar skill set in Alex Tuch. Giving him a puck-moving, responsible playmaker who can also score and do whatever needs to be done in a play will only complement his game and move the needle for them further. The key is keeping him to around his career average ice time, which is just under 18 minutes per night. Pushing that would be too much until he is clearly fully healthy and ready for that workload.
Normally, there needs to be some sort of adjustment period for new players coming in, but in Norris’ case, he was acquired late last season, had some time to spend with the team, and attend some practices. He has also had a whole offseason to train and get back to game shape and recover, and will have an entire training camp and preseason to get his footing. Though he will likely only play a few games in the preseason, he will have all that time to learn the new systems, adjust himself to the team and find who he has chemistry with. After all of this, he will need to be a player that just hits the ground running once the season starts.
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There will need to be immediate production from him. Yes, this is putting a lot of pressure on a player for sure, but he will need to be that kind of player alongside others like Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Alex Tuch. As the top players on the Sabres, having them lead the charge offensively will be the best motivator for this team, and getting momentum early in the season will make a huge difference. If he comes out of the gate passive and looking lost, and needing time to find his footing with his new team, it is going to be rough sailing. Norris being an immediate difference maker will be a make-or-break point for the Sabres this season, and it will matter how healthy he is. Time will tell if his recovery went well and if the Sabres staff can keep him in the lineup.
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