Two days ago, the Ottawa Senators made a trade that some may have found shocking. The Senators traded Josh Norris away to the Buffalo Sabres, but did receive Dylan Cozens in the trade.
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was fighting back tears when talking about Norris being traded. The unfortunate part in sports is trades are part of the game whether fans like it or not.
Yesterday, the time arrived for Norris to make his Sabres debut with hunger for a fresh start following the trade. Unfortunately for the ex-Senator, Norris' debut in Buffalo went rough.
Norris non-factor in Sabres debut
Yesterday, Norris and the Sabres were shutout 4-0 against Vitek Vanecek and the Florida Panthers. In the loss, Norris was a non-factor.
Despite the loss, Norris did get quality ice time from Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff. Norris had 25 shifts in the game to finish with an ice time of 20:27. Norris' ice time was the third highest among Sabres forwards. Norris also recorded one shot on goal and finished with a -1 rating.
Unlike Norris, Cozens made an impact for the Senators in his team debut. In the Senators' 4-3 overtime win yesterday against the New York Rangers, Cozens recorded an assist and finished with leading the team with nine hits.
One game following the trade two days ago, Cozens has already made a bigger impact with the Senators than Norris has with the Sabres.
The Senators and Sabres do have two more future meetings this season. One on March 25 in Buffalo, the other one on April 1 in Ottawa. The Sabres have won both meetings against the Senators this season, but Cozens and Norris being on the opposite teams now could lead to a different outcome when the two games arrive.