The Buffalo Sabres acquisition of Josh Norris prior to the trade deadline was partly an admission by GM Kevyn Adams that the signing of Dylan Cozens in 2023 after a career-high 31 goals was a mistake. Cozens offensive totals declined significantly the two following seasons and in the wake of missing the playoffs for the 14th straight season, Adams was willing to gamble on the more offensively gifted and oft-injured Norris.
"It's been probably about three years since I've had full summer of training and just not have to really worried about anything major. So it's definitely nice to just go into the summer and kind of have a plan and just stick to it." Norris said. "It was a little weird, and it was different. It felt great, you kind of forget what it's like to have a fully healthy summer and not have to worry about anything physically. So, I'm ready to go."
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Norris was a 2017 first round pick of the San Jose Sharks who was dealt to Ottawa in 2018 in the Erik Karlsson deal. After two years at Michigan and one season in the AHL, the 26-year-old scored 17 goals as a rookie and broke out with a career-high 35 goals in 2022, but since has struggled to stay healthy. He missed all but eight games in 2023 and 32 games in 2024 with multiple shoulder injuries that required surgery. Last season, the Michigan native hit the 20-goal mark, but suffered an oblique injury before the trade in March, prompting the Sabres to shut the center down after playing three games.
"I've had my fair share of injuries last year or so. Hopefully I kind of got that out of the way. It's in the past. I haven't really thought at all about that. It's a new year, and I'm looking forward to being a big contributor and just staying up on sleep and nutrition, and all the things that kind of go into it." Norris said. “I mean personally, staying healthy and just having a great year, and with the amount of time that I've missed over the last three or four years, I still really feel that I have a lot to prove,"
Buffalo slotted Norris on the top line between leading scorer Tage Thompson and Zach Benson in their 2-1 preseason victory over Columbus, and they are hoping that he can finally shake off his checkered injury history.
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