Facing his old team for the first time, Josh Norris and the Buffalo Sabres have won six in a row.
As he returns to Ottawa on Tuesday night, former Senator Josh Norris has seen these headlines before:
- After an early-season injury, Norris is attempting yet another comeback.
- His team just had a major upheaval, firing the general manager who traded for him.
- Norris to suit up in Ottawa for a Senators-Sabres game.
But everything is a little different now as Norris faces his old team for the first time.
As they prep for a game at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night, their last game before Christmas, Norris and the Buffalo Sabres are relevant in the East again, winners of six straight games and now within striking distance of a playoff spot. The Senators are almost as hot, winners of four straight and five of their last six.
Individually, Norris is also on a roll with 10 points in eight games since his return to the lineup from another injury. He was hurt back on opening night and missed the next 26 games. That was a familiar sight for Sens fans, who saw him hit the injury list a few times too often in his time here, usually with that bad shoulder.
With the Sabres recently firing GM Kevyn Adams, the man who traded for Norris in March, that probably brought back memories of Pierre Dorion's firing two years ago, the man who brought him to Ottawa from San Jose in 2018.
And with a game at the CTC set for Tuesday, Norris would be forgiven if, out of habit, he accidentally takes a few steps toward the Sens locker room. He'll almost certainly have a ton of people to say hello to in the building, and then later, he'll get the standard tribute video during a stoppage in play at some point.
During his six years in Ottawa, Norris was regarded as a key piece of the core and signed an eight-year deal worth $7.95 million per season. But then injuries repeatedly intervened, and ultimately, the Senators moved him at last March’s trade deadline in the deal that brought the more durable Dylan Cozens to Ottawa.
Buffalo hoped Norris would hit the ground running. Instead, Norris appeared in just three games for the Sabres before getting hurt again and missing the remainder of the season. This season, he lasted one game before landing back on the shelf.
But the production since his return is part of what has helped Buffalo go on this heater.
No one in Ottawa ever doubted Norris' skill, only his ability to stay healthy. His shot, speed, and ability to finish are exactly what the doctor ordered in Buffalo, where the Sabres dug themselves another early hole they're now almost out of.
If he can stay healthy and he's rediscovering the form that once produced 35 goals (in 66 games), then the Cozens deal suddenly won't look so one-sided. But that's a big if.
For now, it's a good chance for Ottawa fans to say hello to a player who played some great games at the CTC and wish him well. But they'd prefer he didn't do too well and conjure up even more deja vu on Tuesday.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa