The Buffalo Sabres don’t need anything else holding them back from getting back to the playoffs. It has been 14 long years since the team qualified for the playoffs in 2010-11, and there have been multiple attempts at rebuilds and retooling.
Buffalo made a trade with the Ottawa Senators last season that saw the main trade pieces of Dylan Cozens be sent out and Josh Norris brought in. With the injury history of Norris and the fragility of the Sabres, this was the first bad spot the team was put in recently. With Norris injured in the first game of the season and expected to miss “a significant amount of time” with an upper-body injury, per Elliotte Friedman, the road ahead is only going to be tougher.
It, of course, is not Norris’ fault that injuries pop up every season, but it is a burden that the Sabres took on, even with his scoring ability. He was slotted in as the first line center, and already, the Sabres have to adjust their outlook and fill the role. What was a three-time 20-goal scorer at center on the top line is now a 21-year-old sophomore in Jiri Kulich in that role to start.
What Josh Norris Could’ve Brought This Season
The injury and timetable for Norris are vague, so we don’t yet know how serious the injury is or how long he will be out. When healthy, the Buffalo Sabres have a talented center at their disposal, but the team only got a slight glimpse at the end of last season when he got into three games and scored a goal and recorded two points.
In Norris’ career, he has played 56, 66, 8, 50, and 56 games in five seasons. While it hasn’t happened yet, constant injuries and being in and out of the lineup could negatively impact his game at some point as he continues to not get regular reps and training due to dealing with certain injuries.
Missing a significant amount of time as the new season just started isn’t good news, but seeing it’s an upper-body injury with the other injuries he has recovered from in recent years makes things potentially worse for the Sabres.
During the 2021-22 season, Norris dealt with a shoulder injury. Then, at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, he got another injury involving his shoulder that lingered on longer than expected. Six days after he returned to action three months later, it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season with shoulder surgery. He missed the start of the 2023-24 season with his shoulder injury and later that season, suffered an upper-body injury that held him out for the rest of the season, besides the three games he played for the Sabres.
Despite the many injuries Norris has had to endure, he has 91 goals and 158 points in 240 games. His career highs came in 2021-22, when he scored 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games. As mentioned prior, he is a three-time 30-goal scorer and has hit at least 30 points in all four seasons he played more than eight games.
The Sabres Must Find a Way to Compete
It doesn’t help the Buffalo Sabres that they are already dealing with injuries to Zach Benson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Michael Kesselring, and Jordan Greenway, but the team has scored one goal through two games and hasn’t won yet. The one goal is the lowest in the league.
Norris, being the goal-scorer that he is, could have helped the Sabres climb out of the poor start, but others will have to pick up the slack, like Kulich, as he is thrust into the top line role. Tyson Kozak came into the lineup upon Norris missing the second game of the season, but the injury also puts more pressure on Ryan McLeod and Peyton Krebs to step up and play more.
The Sabres might realize that Tage Thompson has to move back to center for the time being to help hold the team together. There are still 80 games remaining for the Sabres, and it could be long, or they can endure and stay in the playoff hunt throughout the season.
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