Senators' Norris Doesn't Look 100%, Raising the Question - 'Why Risk It?'
Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris made his return after a nearly 4-month absence due to a shoulder injury. Considering his initial timeline implied Norris could miss the rest of the season, his return was indeed a surprise.
But did the Senators rush him back? It does look that way.
In the above video, he can clearly be seen laboring his injured shoulder, and the team's trainer can be seen consulting head coach D.J. Smith. Ottawa absolutely rushed Norris back - regardless of whether or not he felt he was ready.
20-23-3, Ottawa sits 25th in the NHL and has no shot of making the playoffs, so rushing one of their young, core players back from a nagging injury seems wildly irresponsible. Not to mention there is this kid named Connor Bedard set to be drafted this summer, so one would think it best to just shut Norris down and engage the tank engine.
Just one guy's thoughts...
Ottawa signed Josh Norris to an eight-year, $63.6 million contract this summer, so their willingness to risk a long-term issue with him is puzzling. Why not shut him down for the season, get him right, and have him ready for next season?
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 22 | 250 ANSWERS Senators' Norris Doesn't Look 100%, Raising the Question - 'Why Risk It?' Should the Senators have sat Josh Norris for the rest of the season or put him back in the lineup even if he's not 100%? | ||
| Shut him down | 100 | 40 % |
| Have him play through it | 30 | 12 % |
| Don't know, I'm not a doctor | 87 | 34.8 % |
| See results | 33 | 13.2 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||