Senators’ Josh Norris Out Multiple Weeks With Mid-Body Injury
Senators center Josh Norris will miss “a few weeks” with the injury he sustained in Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Wild, head coach Travis Green told TSN 1200 Ottawa on Monday. Green clarified that it’s a mid-body issue for Norris but didn’t issue further details.
Norris, 25, had only recently returned to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body issue. He had four points in three games since returning, including a three-point outing against the Capitals last Thursday.
It will be Norris’ most prolonged absence from a primarily healthy season. Recurring shoulder issues and multiple surgeries limited him to 124 of 246 possible regular-season games over the prior three seasons. While he won’t play a full schedule for the first time since his rookie showing in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, he was previously on track to only miss single-digit games for the first time since then.
Thanks to the upcoming break in the schedule for the 4 Nations Face-Off, a multi-week interruption won’t result in too many missed games for the 2017 first-round pick. He presumably won’t play in the four remaining games before the tournament but could be in line to return on Feb. 22 against the Canadiens or Feb. 26 against the Jets, Ottawa’s only two contests left in the month after the break.
Norris has consistently operated as the Sens’ second-line center this season, often skating with Drake Batherson on his right flank and, most recently, David Perron on his left. His 19 goals in 50 games are one back of captain Brady Tkachuk for the team lead, while his 31 points rank sixth. He’s averaging 18:24 per game, in line with his usage from his breakout 35-goal campaign in 2021-22, and winning 54% of his draws.
It hasn’t been as dominant of a campaign offensively as the Sens envisioned he would churn out when they signed him to an eight-year, $63.6MM extension after that 35-goal year, but returning to health and establishing himself as a solid top-six pivot is a win for a player whose career was on the verge of being entirely derailed by injury. He’s been among the Senators’ most physically involved forwards with 43 blocks and 126 hits and logs time on their top power play and penalty kill units.
He’s an important piece and, by extension, a significant loss for a streaking Ottawa club trying to hold third place in the Atlantic Division heading into the break. They’re one point ahead of the Red Wings and two points ahead of the Bruins and Lightning, although Tampa is the only one in the group with a game in hand. Overall, their .577 points percentage ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference and 13th in the league, putting them in position to end their seven-year playoff drought.
Norris could be flexed to injured reserve to open up a roster spot if the Sens need one, but an LTIR placement to increase cap flexibility can’t happen unless they project him to miss at least 10 games. That’s unlikely since the break in the schedule would hold him out past the trade deadline.
He’ll be replaced in the lineup by winger Cole Reinhardt, who Ottawa recalled from AHL Belleville on Sunday. Ridly Greig will shift to the middle to center Batherson and Perron tonight against the Predators.
Senators Reassign Leevi Merilainen, Activate Linus Ullmark
Feb. 3rd: According to a report from PuckPedia, the Senators have moved defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker and forward Noah Gregor to LTIR. The move has allowed Ottawa the flexibility to activate Ullmark and have $105K in LTIR cap space.
Feb. 2nd: The Ottawa Senators have assigned goaltender Leevi Merilainen back to the minor leagues. This seems to be an indication that top goaltender Linus Ullmark is nearing a return from his long-term injury, as pointed out by TSN’s Bruce Garrioch. The NHL media site shows that Ullmark has been activated from long-term injured reserve. Ullmark has missed the team’s last 18 games with a back injury. Ottawa’s visit to Nashville on Monday could be his first game back.
Merilainen performed incredibly well in relief of Ullmark. He served as the team’s backup behind Anton Forsberg, but still appeared in 12 games and posted a dazzling 8-3-1 record and .925 save percentage. Should he not play in any more NHL games this season, Merilainen’s .925 would tie for the sixth-highest a Senators goaltender has ever recorded in a minimum of 10 games. Above him are three Craig Anderson seasons, and flash-in-the-pan years from Andrew Hammond and Robin Lehner. Ron Tugnutt (1998-99) and Dominik Hasek (2005-06) each posted .925 save percentages in 43 games of their own.
That’s certainly welcome company for Merilainen, who will now take his red hot play back to the minor leagues. He served as the Belleville Senators’ clear starter to begin the year, posting a 7-2-4 record and .901 save percentage through 13 games before his call-up. That still stands as the winningest record and highest save percentage on the AHL Senators, who have turned towards a rotation of goaltenders to fill Merilainen’s role. Malcolm Subban has been their more prominent fixture – playing in 11 games – though Michael Simpson, Mads Sogaard, and Mark Sinclair have each received their own shots at the AHL crease. All four fill-ins have posted save percentages below .890 – or in Sogaard’s case, below .860. Those numbers set Merilainen up for clear control of the Belleville crease upon his return – and continued strong play could force the NHL Senators to soon reconsider their choice of backup.
Ullmark will be rushed back to the NHL starting role in much the same way. The Senators have struggled immensely to find a consistent goaltender, and made a brazen move to acquire the former Vezina Trophy this summer. Aside from the long-term injury, the move has paid dividends extremely quickly. Ullmark recorded a 12-7-2 record and .915 save percentages in 23 games before getting hurt. After plenty of speculation around how he’d translate to a tougher environment, Ullmark has looked every ounce of cool, calm, and collected for the duration of his Senators tenure. This return from injury will give him a chance to continue that streak, and ramp up the Senators’ 7-2-1 hot streak over their last 10 games.
Senators Recall Cole Reinhardt
The Senators announced Sunday they’ve recalled winger Cole Reinhardt from AHL Belleville. They opened a roster spot by waiving and reassigning him just last week, so no corresponding transaction is required.
Reinhardt returns to the active roster after Josh Norris left Saturday’s 6-0 drubbing of the Wild in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Travis Green didn’t have an update on Norris’ status postgame, nor made it clear when the center sustained it (via Sportsnet).
The 25-year-old’s inclusion on the roster gives the Sens 12 forwards for Monday’s game against the Predators in case Norris cannot play. Ottawa did not have any extra healthy forwards for last night’s win, with Noah Gregor on injured reserve and Nick Cousins out long-term following knee surgery.
Reinhardt last skated for the Sens in their 5-0 win over the Penguins on Jan. 11. He sustained an upper-body injury in that game that forced him out of the next nine contests before he landed on waivers last Tuesday.
The Calgary native cleared without incident and returned to play with the B-Sens on Wednesday, scoring the overtime winner in a 6-5 win over Hartford in his first game back. He was otherwise held pointless in three appearances over the past few days, but he still checks in as Belleville’s points-per-game leader with 1.06.
A sixth-round pick in 2020, the 6’1″ left-winger has worked his way up to tweener status on Ottawa’s depth chart. He’s appeared in 12 NHL games this season after not suiting up in any since his NHL debut in April 2022, posting a goal and an assist with a minus-five rating.
Reinhardt has averaged just 8:08 per game but ranks second on the team with 17.8 hits per 60 minutes. Outside of his physicality and the depth scoring upside he’s flashed at the AHL level, his possession impacts have been poor with a 42.6 CF% and -1.6 expected rating at even strength. The former ranks last among Ottawa skaters to play multiple games this season.
Reinhardt can remain on Ottawa’s roster for another 30 days or play 10 games before he needs to clear waivers again to return to Belleville. He’s slated to reach Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer due to playing fewer than 80 NHL games while having at least three professional seasons under his belt.
Senators Linked To Ryan Donato, Brandon Tanev
Multiple reports over the past couple of weeks indicate the Senators are looking to add a forward ahead of the March 7 trade deadline. The Blackhawks’ Ryan Donato and the Kraken’s Brandon Tanev are two of the names they’ve identified as acquisition candidates, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen wrote Saturday.
Ottawa’s drive to add further in advance of the deadline is likely driven by a pair of factors. Available options are quickly dwindling after a slew of major swaps over the past week, and they’ve lost a depth option for potentially the rest of the season after Garrioch reports Nick Cousins underwent knee surgery Friday, extending his previously issued six-to-eight-week return timeline.
Tanev would be a more direct replacement for Cousins in a bottom-six role, albeit one with more offensive utility. Donato, however, would provide head coach Travis Green with another option to deploy in second-line usage alongside Drake Batherson and Josh Norris amid a career-best season.
The 28-year-old Donato is a pending unrestricted free agent, likely to land at least a marginal raise on his current $2MM AAV on the open market this summer. That’s because he ranks third on the Blackhawks in scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 50 games, trailing only Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teräväinen.
Donato has produced at a 49-point pace despite averaging 14:47 per game, seventh among active Chicago forwards. His 46.6 CF% at even strength leads Hawks forwards after Taylor Hall‘s departure via trade last month, and only five of his 30 points have come on the power play. His 14 even-strength goals lead Chicago by a margin of five.
He’s a historically inconsistent but versatile secondary scoring piece who’s flourished amid a lack of support in the Windy City, not all too dissimilar to Max Domi in the 2022-23 campaign. He notched 49 points in 60 games after signing as a free agent and fetched them a second-round pick from the Stars at the deadline.
The Senators should expect to pay a similar price for Donato, especially after the rental market was set over the weekend. Mikael Granlund and Marcus Pettersson both fetched first-rounders for the Sharks and Penguins. Donato’s utility down the middle won’t matter much for the Sens in their current state with Norris, Tim Stützle and Shane Pinto as their top three centers, but knowing he can slide over from the wing is good to have in case of injuries.
The type of forward they choose to acquire likely depends on how David Perron performs over the coming days. The veteran winger is getting an audition alongside Norris and Batherson after a lengthy personal leave and a back injury have limited him to one assist in 14 games. An uptick in production likely means they go for a more physically involved checking winger to replace and upgrade over Cousins, but otherwise, adding a more scoring-inclined weapon to the league’s 21st-ranked offense will be at the top of general manager Steve Staios‘ wish list.
Tanev would also be a rental, checking in at a more expensive $3.5MM cap hit. He also has some control over where (and if) he goes at the deadline with a 10-team no-trade list.
The 33-year-old left-winger has been with the Kraken since their inception, selected from the Penguins in the expansion draft two seasons into a six-year, $21MM extension. He missed over half of the 2021-22 season and a good chunk of the 2023-24 campaign due to injuries but has been mostly healthy this season, playing in 51 of Seattle’s 53 games.
While Tanev was once an option to score double-digit goals, those days may be behind him. He had a career-high 16 goals, 35 points and a +21 rating while skating in all 82 games during the Kraken’s lone playoff-bound season in 2022-23, but has 15 goals and 31 points in 117 combined games since then.
Nonetheless, he’s still among the league’s most fervent checkers. He leads all forwards with 82 blocks and ranks third on Seattle in hits with 107.
Tanev also remains an option to log heavy shorthanded usage, but his even-strength possession metrics have nosedived this season. His 43.2 CF% ranks last on the team among qualified skaters, and his -8.6 expected rating is trailed only by Jamie Oleksiak and Chandler Stephenson.
Ottawa should be able to land Donato without salary retention but may need a little help from the Kraken if they zero in on Tanev. They project to have $3.33MM in deadline space, per PuckPedia, a figure that could change once goaltender Linus Ullmark comes off long-term injured reserve in the days leading up to the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Ullmark Won't Play Tonight But Will Go On Road Trip
The Senators won’t have goaltender Linus Ullmark back for tonight’s game against Minnesota. However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays (Twitter link) that the veteran is nearing a return and is expected to accompany the team on its upcoming four-game road trip that begins on Monday. Ullmark has missed nearly six weeks now due to a back injury. He had settled in well before being sidelined with a 2.38 GAA and a .915 SV% in 23 appearances. Fortunately for Ottawa, prospect Leevi Merilainen has played quite well since being promoted in Ullmark’s absence, helping the Sens not only hang around the playoff picture but actually enter play today in a top-three seed in the division.
Shawn Simpson Passes Away At Age 56
Shawn Simpson, a long-time member of the Ottawa Senators radio broadcast booth with TSN, has tragically passed away at 56, as the team announced.
Simpson entered professional hockey in the 1986 NHL Draft when the Washington Capitals selected him with the 60th overall pick. Unfortunately, besides two playoff games as a backup netminder, Simpson never played in the NHL with the Capitals and retired relatively quickly after the 1990-91 season.
He remained with the Capitals organization as a color commentator for several years while pursuing his education at Georgetown University. It was not until the 1993-94 season that Simpson transitioned into Washington’s front office to become a professional scout.
The Capitals promoted Simpson to director of hockey operations ahead of the 1997-98 season. Alongside general manager George McPhee, Simpson helped steer Washington to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history that spring.
Simpson continued as the Capitals’ director of hockey operations until the 2003-04 season when he decided to move closer to his hometown. He spent four years as a professional scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs before ending his tenure in the front office.
After spending many years away from his hometown of Gloucester, Ontario, Simpson joined TSN in 2012 as the co-host of “The Drive” radio show and as an on-air personality for Ottawa’s post-game broadcasts. In 2013, he transitioned to a new show called “Mornings” and continued to collaborate closely with the Senators organization.
In 2023, Bell Media, the controlling owner of TSN, ended its contract with Simpson. However, he remained a significant figure in Ottawa and with the Senators until the dreadful news broke this morning.
We at Pro Hockey Rumors send our condolences to Simpson’s family, friends, and peers.
Senators’ Nick Cousins To Miss 6-8 Weeks
Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins will be out through at least early March after suffering a knee injury in the team’s Saturday win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cousins suffered the injury on a knee-to-knee collision with Leafs rookie Jacob Quillan. Both players needed help off the ice after the hit, though Quillian ultimately avoided an injury. Senators head coach Travis Green shared that Cousins would miss significant time immediately after the game. Now the forward could be a candidate for long-term injured reserve, though Cousins is getting different opinions on the severity of his injury, per TSN’s Bruce Garrioch.
Cousins has been a reliable bottom-six forward for the Senators, appearing in 46 of the team’s 48 games and averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time prior to his injury. He has five goals and 13 points on the year, just shy of the 15 points he managed in 69 games with the Florida Panthers last season. Cousins continues to sit off of his team’s special teams units – which should make his role a bit less of a headache to replace.
Since Cousins’ injury, top forward Joshua Norris has made his return to the Senators lineup. That addition should fill their hole for the time being, with Adam Gaudette and Matthew Highmore securing routine roles on the fourth line. Ottawa also successfully passed winger Cole Reinhardt through waivers on Wednesday, which grants him a 30-day waiver exemption and gives Ottawa a movable extra forward. Reinhardt has two points, a goal and an assist through 12 games this season. They’re the first points of his career, in some of his first NHL games, though he made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season. Reinhardt has since been a productive member of the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He leads that team in points-per-game this season, with 16 points in 13 games. Ottawa could also turn towards rookie Stephen Halliday – Belleville’s leading scorer with 27 points – should they need additional support over the next two months.
In other Senators news, defenseman Nick Jensen returned to the team’s practice in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday. Jensen has missed the team’s last two games with an undisclosed injury. His status for Ottawa’s Thursday matchup against the Washington Capitals is undetermined, but Jensen is expected to return soon, per Sportsnet’s Alex Adams. Jensen has 18 points in 48 games this season – the second-highest scoring pace of his 10-year career behind his 29 points in 77 games of the 2022-23 season.
Finally, star goaltender Linus Ullmark should return within the next few games, per Garrioch. Ullmark has missed the last 16 games with a back injury. He’s been an integral piece to the Senators’ lineup in his first year with the club, boasting a 12-7-2 record and .915 save percentage through 23 games this season. He’ll be a critical addition when he’s back to full health.
Senators’ Cole Reinhardt Clears Waivers
Jan. 29: Reinhardt cleared waivers Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Jan. 28: The Senators placed left-winger Cole Reinhardt on waivers Tuesday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If he clears, he’ll be reassigned to AHL Belleville.
Reinhardt, 24, signed a two-way extension with the Senators in the offseason to avoid restricted free agency. He cleared waivers during training camp and was sent to Belleville but has spent a good portion of the season on the NHL roster, playing in 12 games since his initial recall on Oct. 20. That brought his tally of NHL appearances to 13, as he also appeared in one game with the Senators three years ago. He has a goal and an assist with a minus-five rating, averaging 8:10 per game at the top level.
Reinhardt was last recalled on Dec. 27, after which he lost his temporary waiver exemption because he’d played more than 10 games. He last played on Jan. 11 against the Penguins and has missed nine games with an upper-body injury, so today’s placement indicates he’s been cleared to play.
He’s made 13 AHL appearances this year with a raucous 16 points (6 G, 10 A). His plus-eight rating also leads B-Sens forwards despite only spending a small portion of the season on the farm. Dating back to 2020-21, he has 115 points in 238 minor-league games with 239 PIMs and an even rating.
He’s destined for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer because he’s played more than three professional seasons with fewer than 80 career NHL appearances. His AHL breakout could convince some clubs to take a flyer on him off waivers tomorrow, potentially getting him more ice time somewhere with a thinner forward group.
Ottawa’s wingers are the healthiest they’ve been in quite some time with offseason pickups Michael Amadio and David Perron back in action. Their depth isn’t at 100%, though, as Nick Cousins is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking the worst of a knee-on-knee collision with Maple Leafs rookie Jacob Quillan on Saturday, and Noah Gregor remains on injured reserve with a lower-body issue.
Senators To Play Two Exhibition Games In Quebec City
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that the Ottawa Senators will play two exhibition games at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City as part of their training camp this upcoming fall. It is expected that one of those games will be against the Montreal Canadiens, while the other is unknown. Senators owner Michael Andlauer has talked about his interest in growing the Senators’ reach in Quebec City and surrounding areas and likely sees an opportunity to grow the team’s fan base outside of the Capital Region. Andlauer visited the Videotron Centre last fall and was impressed with the 18,259-seat arena.
Quebec City’s Videotron Centre has played host to the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL since its opening in 2015 and has yet to have an NHL tenant. The Los Angeles Kings did have part of their training camp there his past year, but the building remains an NHL-caliber arena without an NHL-calibre team. The Kings hosted two exhibition games there in the fall of 2024 against the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers
Ottawa will likely open its skates to the public to increase its reach in the area and will reportedly participate in several community events during the season.
Quebec City hasn’t had an NHL team since the Quebec Nordiques departed for Colorado back in 1995. They have taken all of the appropriate steps to land an NHL team but remain an underdog as the NHL has preferred to expand south of the border in recent years and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Andlauer also spoke about the possibility that the Senators are looking at Quebec City for a potential move if their negotiations for a new arena continue to drag out. The Senators owner was emphatic in denying that possibility, telling reporters that he loves the Ottawa-Gatineau area and the team’s supporters.
Canucks Receiving Interest In Elias Pettersson
Over the past few weeks, the expectation has been that if Vancouver winds up moving one of its top two centers, that player was likely to be J.T. Miller. Last weekend, a potential deal was close enough that the Canucks pondered scratching him but the move never materialized and Miller remained in the lineup that night.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, various reports indicated that Carolina was in discussion with Vancouver about both Miller and Elias Pettersson with various proposed offers for either one. Ultimately, neither of those happened with the Hurricanes instead pivoting to adding Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall from Colorado and Chicago respectively.
But with discussions for Miller not seemingly going well, it appears that teams are still calling about Pettersson. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Sabres are believed to be among the teams showing a lot of interest in the 26-year-old. The Fourth Period suggests that the Senators could be a team to keep an eye on as well.
Pettersson is in the first season of an eight-year, $92.8MM contract, or a cap hit of $11.6MM per season. Notably, since this is the final of his original RFA-eligible years, Pettersson doesn’t have any form of trade protection. Miller, on the other hand, has a full no-move clause which could make things more complicated for the Canucks.
Two years ago, Pettersson put up his first 100-point season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games. He wasn’t quite able to reach those numbers in 2023-24 but still managed 34 goals and 55 helpers, giving him another season of over a point per game. While that wasn’t elite production, it was still legitimate top-line numbers at a premium position.
Unfortunately for both Pettersson and the Canucks, the decline in output has continued into this season. He has 11 goals and 19 assists through 42 games, putting him fifth on Vancouver in scoring. While some believe his struggles are at least in some part related to the apparent rift between him and Miller, it’s clear that the Canucks are expecting much more from him either way.
Both Buffalo and Ottawa have younger centers on long-term deals that would seemingly serve as starting points for a Pettersson offer. Dylan Cozens is only two years removed from a 31-goal, 68-point season and is signed through 2030 at $7.1MM per year. Meanwhile, Josh Norris has a 35-goal campaign under his belt from 2021-22 and checks in at $7.95MM per season through 2030.
Neither player is a number one middleman but would give Vancouver a serviceable second option behind Miller. Of course, those would only be the starting point of offers and finding the other pieces needed will determine whether a swap gets past the finish line. And again, other teams are believed to be interested as it’s not too often that a top-line center in his prime becomes available.
At this point, it doesn’t look like the Canucks are getting the types of offers they’re hoping for to get a Miller trade done. As a result, a Pettersson move looks like it’s starting to become a bit more palatable so expect GM Patrik Allvin to be fielding more calls about his young center in the coming days.