Josh Norris was the former 19th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks, but was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2018 with being part of the Erik Karlsson trade. In the 2020-21 season, Norris would break out in his rookie year with recording 35 points.
In the following 2021-22 season, Norris recorded a 35-goal season and 55-point season. After that season, Norris signed an eight-year extension with the Senators.
Since the extension, Norris has had the inability to stay healthy. In March 2025, Norris was traded to the Buffalo Sabres. While Norris is now out of Ottawa, there is a risk the Sabres now have with Norris that can become a huge risk, and the Senators don't have to worry about it.
Norris is the highest paid forward on Sabres for a player who has dealt with injuries
Injury concerns have been a staple for Norris' career. In the very first season after signing his extension, Norris missed 74 games in the 2022-23 season for the Senators. In the 2023-24 season, Norris missed 32 games.
At the time of the trade with the Sabres, Norris had played in 53 of Ottawa's 61 games during the 2024-25 regular season. Following the trade to Buffalo, Norris played in just three games for the Sabres due to an oblique injury. The injury caused Norris to miss 18 games for the Sabres.
For a player making $7.95 million per year to miss a significant amount of games in a season is a huge risk for a team. Now, the Sabres have that risk with Norris on the team. To make things a concern even more, Norris is the highest paid forward on the Sabres roster. Overall, Norris is the third highest Sabres player on the roster.
While Norris' contract extension was signed in Ottawa, $7.95 million per year for a player with injury issues is a risk the Senators will be happy to not have in the future.
Norris is making more money per year than Sabres superstar Tage Thompson who makes $7.14 million per year. In an insane twist, Thomspon and Norris each have their contracts run out together in 2030.
Norris' contract with the inability to stay healthy was an issue the Senators couldn't afford anymore. When Dylan Cozens was traded over by the Sabres in the trade, Cozens contributed big to the Senators' 2025 playoff push by recording 16 points in 21 games.
Some Sens fans do miss Norris being on the team with his scoring abilities, but should be excited and optimistic about Cozens. While Cozens was solid to help make the 2025 playoffs, Cozens expressed how much he enjoyed playing in Ottawa in under two months. Next season, both Norris and Cozens will have something to prove in their first full season with their teams, but Norris will need to be fully healthy with a chance to prove the Senators wrong that they traded him away.