An Ottawa Senators forward makes his long awaited return to an lineup
The Ottawa Senators are still going through growing pains as a young team this season, but it appears as though they're about to get a huge boost.
Senators centre Josh Norris is returning to the lineup on Wednesday to face the Pittsburgh Penguins according to head coach D.J. Smith.
The 23 year old Norris had been out of the lineup since October 22nd, missing 38 games with a shoulder injury.
Norris had 35 goals and 20 assists for 55 points in 66 games last season. The team rewarded him with a eight-year, $63.6-million extension this past summer.
At morning skate, Norris was skating on Ottawa's second line between wingers Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux. Smith said Giroux would take most of the faceoffs for Norris.
Drafted 19th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2017 NHL Draft. Norris was traded along with Rudolfs Balcers, Chris Tierney, Dylan DeMelo, round 2 pick in the 2019 draft (Jamieson Rees), conditional round 1 pick in the 2020 draft (Tim Stutzle), conditional round 2 pick in the 2021 draft (Zack Ostapchuk) and conditional round 1 pick in the 2022 draft to Ottawa Senators for Francis Perron and Erik Karlsson.
The Senators will be delighted to get their leading goal scorer from last season back. Ottawa are currently 10 points back of the final wild card spot with a record of 19-21-3.
| POLL | ||
Who will lead the Senators in points at seasons end? | ||
| Brady Tkachuk | 26 | 44.8 % |
| Tim Stutzle | 15 | 25.9 % |
| Claude Giroux | 11 | 19 % |
| Alex DeBrincat | 6 | 10.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
