The Buffalo Sabres will need production from their top forwards in order to challenge for a postseason berth this season. In addition to continued strong play from 24-25 goal scoring leaders Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, the Sabres will need a healthy Josh Norris playing at the top of his game to move forward.
Norris was acquired by Buffalo in the deal that saw Dylan Cozens traded to the Ottawa Senators on March 7, 2025.
Just three games into his Sabres tenure, Norris was sidelined with an oblique injury. The torn oblique was sustained on February 1st in a game between the Senators and the Minnesota Wild. The injury was re-aggravated in a Sabres game against Detroit on March 12th, causing Norris to miss the remainder of Buffalo’s season.
The twenty-six year old native of Oxford Michigan has been slowed by injury throughout his NHL career, including undergoing three surgeries on his left shoulder.
The Cozens/Norris trade carries significant risk for the Sabres, given the injury history of Norris. However, it may turn out to be a gamble that was worth taking for Buffalo.
Moving on from Cozens was a move that shook up a core group that had been unable to achieve the goal of reaching playoffs; that has now reached fourteen straight seasons. While the Sabres have been looking to add a top six forward to the group, a healthy Norris would go a long way toward filling that need.
If he can deliver as a first line centerman it would allow Buffalo the ability to move young talent Juri Kulich to the second line center spot.
Having Norris and Kulich perform up the middle would allow Thompson to remain on the wing, where he flourished last season.
When healthy, Norris has shown the ability to put up offensive numbers. In the 2021 season, he scored thirty-five goals and added twenty assists in sixty-six games played.
Having Norris in the lineup consistently could be a game changer for the Sabres this season.
