Josh Norris On His Recovery: "I Started to Turn a Corner About a Month Ago"

After missing 90 games over the past two years, the Ottawa Senators centre says his shoulder feels "really good."

At this time last year, Josh Norris was fresh off a 35-goal NHL season and was clearly the Ottawa Senators' undisputed number-one centre. Despite playing in just 66 games in 2021-22, he led the Sens in goals and finished third on the team with 55 points. Norris was on his way, and so the Senators rewarded him last July with an eight-year, $63.6 million contract. 

A lot has changed since then. Tim Stutzle has now emerged as a star in the league, the 19th best scorer in hockey, and Ottawa's new number one centre. Norris, on the other hand, has mostly been shut down due to injury.

Norris was hurt in a game against Arizona in October but wanted to see if he could avoid going under the knife for the second time in his young career. So he rolled with three months of rehab and tried to return in mid-January. The comeback lasted all of three games before he hurt the shoulder again. 

This time around, surgery was the play, ending his 2022-23 season and setting up about six months of recovery time.

By necessity, all of this left the door wide open for Stutzle, with his boatload of skill, to finally make the shift to centre. Even if Norris is fully healthy this season, it's clear to all that Stutzle has passed him on the depth chart, but there's certainly no shame in that. The 21-year-old German has emerged as one the best offensive players in the game.

But that doesn't remotely lessen the importance of a healthy Norris, whose absence last year left an enormous hole. Make no mistake, to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the Senators will need both of their star centres healthy and pulling hard on the rope. 

Norris appeared this week on the "Coming in Hot" Podcast and updated fans on the status of his shoulder.

"Yeah, I feel good," Norris said. "The first four to five months was the main grunt work. I kinda started to turn a corner probably about a month ago or so. And I'm feeling really good. I've been on the ice a ton. I'm back to training normally now which is kinda nice."

Norris does say he's still going to rehab, but says he should be ready to play in some of the club's eight preseason games, which run from September 24th to October 7th.

"I mean, yeah, I would assume so," Norris said. "My goal is to be ready for opening night. Obviously, I'd like to get some preseason games in if that's the case. I don't think I'm going to get thrown right to the wolves on night one. Obviously, if things are looking good, and I think they are right now, then I should be ready."

Sens camp opens September 21st but Norris says he's already getting excited and may arrive back in Ottawa by the end of August.

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