Insider: Big Turn of Events Coming For Senators' Josh Norris

The Ottawa Senators were without two of their top three centers as they opened the season with a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes this week. But while the situation with RFA Shane Pinto remains up in the air because of, essentially, salary cap mismanagement this summer, the absence of injured Josh Norris appears to be coming to an end... maybe. 

Per Darren Dreger on TSN's Insider Trading Thursday evening:

There might be some good news for the Ottawa Senators as Josh Norris is expected to return to the lineup as early as this weekend.

The key words there just could be "might be", as on Friday, Dreger put a little bit of the brakes on the suggestion, perhaps, adding some background to the Norris situation, as the center has been struggling to return from a shoulder injury. 

There's no guarantee he's going to play. This has been a cloudy one for the Senators, and for Norris... It's disappointing and frustrating for everybody, starting with Josh Norris. The hope is that he's going to play one of the two games on the weekend for the Sens, and if he does, that's huge for Norris and huge for the Sens. 

Just last Sunday, team doctors informed head coach DJ Smith that Norris would not be ready to open the season and would be out "indefinitely." The 24-year-old was only able to play eight games last season for Ottawa due to shoulder surgery, and 66 games in 2021-22, when he recorded a team-high 35 goals.

He's been trying to get himself fully healthy and game-ready all summer, and perhaps that's about to come to fruition. 

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