Atlantic Notes: Senators, Lightning, Sabres
In a recent article, Bruce Garrioch from The Ottawa Citizen analyzed the Ottawa Senators’ approach to the trade deadline. To no surprise, Garrioch indicated that the Senators remain committed to winning this season, and that the team is seeking a top-six forward and top-four defenseman.
That’s a hefty wishlist, especially for a team that’s 10 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Garrioch reported that the Senators are interested in forward Blake Coleman and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames, which would immediately fulfill both desires.
Still, Weegar has a full no-movement clause in his contract, meaning he would have to sign off on a trade to Ottawa. He is from there, but there’s been no indication that he is one of the players that the Flames are considering moving this season. At any rate, it’s clear that the Senators are trying to fill a pair of higher-level holes, and they’re looking for players with term.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- There is more positive news on the injury front for the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s already been reported that captain Victor Hedman will return to the lineup tomorrow, and the team is only a few days away from returning a few more. According to team reporter Benjamin Pierce, the trio of Brayden Point, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, and Charle-Edouard D’Astous all skated with the team at practice today. Once Hedman officially returns, they will be the only remaining players on the injured reserve.
- In a separate injury update, this time with the Buffalo Sabres, Bill Hoppe of The Times Herald reported that there are no plans to shut down Joshua Norris through the upcoming Olympic break. Norris has missed the Sabres’ last nine games, including tonight, due to an upper-body injury. Still, he has resumed skating over the last few days and will travel with the team for their road trip next week. Norris specifically shut down the idea of sitting out if he’s healthy, saying, “If you’re ready to go, you’re not just going to sit out. So when I feel like I’m 100 percent, I’m going to play.”
Sabres Activate Alex Lyon, Place Joshua Norris On IR
The Buffalo Sabres will again carry three netminders on their active roster. According to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, the Sabres have activated goaltender Alex Lyon from the injured reserve and have placed forward Joshua Norris on it in a corresponding roster move.
Although unfortunate, Norris’ placement on the IR was expected. After suffering an upper-body injury on Wednesday, Norris had his recovery timeline downgraded to week-to-week, following initial reports that it would only be a few days.
Still, it doesn’t appear that a week-to-week timeline is set in stone yet. According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News Sports, there’s no sense that Norris will be held out of Buffalo’s lineup through the Olympic Break, with head coach Lindy Ruff saying, “This can turn around in a day or two.”
Meanwhile, Lyon will return to the Sabres lineup after missing several weeks of action due to a lower-body issue. Before losing nearly a month due to injury, Lyon was arguably Buffalo’s best option in net, managing a 10-6-3 record in 21 games with a .906 SV% and 2.82 GAA.
Still, regardless of the stability that he’s provided between the pipes, his tenure in Buffalo could be nearing its end. In his introductory press conference, General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen stated that he has little interest in carrying three netminders on the roster for the rest of the season.
Given his play this season and an affordable contract through the 2026-27 season, Lyon projects as the most movable netminder if the Sabres go that route. Additionally, Buffalo still has youngster Devon Levi knocking on the door in the AHL, meaning there could be a few goaltenders moved out of upstate New York by the end of the season.
Sabres’ Joshua Norris Downgraded To Week-To-Week
1/18/26: Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff issued an update on Norris’ status today, telling the media that Norris won’t travel with the team on their upcoming flight to Carolina. Ruff said Norris is “not really recovering the way we had hoped” and downgraded the player’s recovery timeline to week-to-week. Norris’ injury was previously classified as day-to-day.
1/15/26: Yet another injury has come through for one of the league’s most plagued forwards. Buffalo Sabres centerman Joshua Norris sustained an upper-body injury on Wednesday that will have him out on a day-to-day basis, per a team announcement.
Norris’ final shift came with six minutes remaining in the second period. He received a few cross-checks to the ribs courtesy of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler. Norris fought through those checks to deliver the primary assist on Buffalo’s fourth goal of the game. It seems those whacks may have caused more damage than it appears, though, and he will now land on the shelf yet again.
Norris missed 25 games between October and December while recovering from a different upper-body injury sustained in the Sabres’ season opener. He has had a bad trend of upper-body injuries through the last few years, sustaining an oblique injury that ended his 2024-25 season early and undergoing multiple shoulder surgeries during his six seasons with the Ottawa Senators.
While this injury doesn’t seem as severe as some Norris has faced, it will still shorthand the Sabres for the near future. Norris has been an electric part of the offense when healthy. His 17 points in 19 games this season gives him the second-highest scoring pace (0.89 points-per-game) on the team behind Tage Thompson (0.98).
This has been a career-year for Norris on the scoresheet. His scoring pace and 0 plus-minus both rank as career-highs. He has reached those heights despite averaging under 16 minutes of ice time each game – a career-low, largely thanks to so often needing eased back from injury. His strong shooting and connection with Buffalo’s stars has still earned Norris a spot on the Sabres’ top power-play unit. They will have to replace that hole, in addition to Norris’ spot in the top-six, for their next slate.
The Sabres have recalled top prospect Konsta Helenius to attempt to fill the gap. Helenius leads Rochester Americans forwards in scoring with 30 points in 34 games. He is in his second AHL season after spending two years in the Liiga, Finland’s top league. Despite yo-yoing prospects like Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund between leagues, the Sabres have opted for a patient approach with Helenius, leaving him a full-time AHL role through the last two seasons. Now, with Norris out, their patience could come to fruition should Helenius make his NHL debut.
Atlantic Notes: Stolarz, Kesselring, Ullmark, Poitras
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has missed more than two months with an upper-body injury with little known beyond that. The netminder told reporters yesterday (video link) that he has been dealing with a nerve issue, one that simply needed time to heal but no one knew at the time how long he’d be out for. Stolarz was a top performer last season which earned him a four-year, $15MM extension in training camp. However, he struggled mightily before being shut down, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in 13 starts. He indicated that he still needs to get into a few practices with the team before he could potentially return which could put him in line to see game action at some point toward the back of their upcoming five-game homestand.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Sabres will welcome back a defenseman today against Minnesota. Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that Michael Kesselring will return to the lineup after missing the last seven games with a high ankle sprain. Kesselring has been quiet in his first season with Buffalo after being acquired from Utah in an offseason trade. He’s still looking for his first point with his new team after being held off the scoresheet through 16 games while he’s averaging a little over 15 minutes a night on the third pairing. While Buffalo will get him back, that won’t be the case for center Joshua Norris who remains listed as day-to-day.
- Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark skated with the team on Friday for the first time since stepping away on a leave of absence last month, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. However, there remains no timetable for him to return to Ottawa’s lineup. The 32-year-old struggled through the first two and a half months of the season, posting a save percentage of just .881, a career low by a considerable margin. For now, Leevi Merilainen and recent signee James Reimer will continue as their goaltending tandem.
- Bruins center Matthew Poitras has changed agents, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link). After being represented previously by John Walters from The Will Sports Group, the 21-year-old has signed with Newport’s Wade Arnott. Poitras has played in 33 games with Boston in each of the last two seasons but has played exclusively with AHL Providence in 2025-26. So far, he has six goals and 14 assists in 33 games in the minors. This is the final season of his entry-level deal and he will be a restricted free agent without arbitration rights next summer.
Sabres Recall Konsta Helenius, Place Joshua Dunne On IR
The Sabres have recalled top forward prospect Konsta Helenius from AHL Rochester, according to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. He could make his NHL debut tonight in Montreal. In a corresponding move, Joshua Dunne was moved to injured reserve with the mid-body issue that’s expected to keep him out for four to six weeks.
Helenius may be entering the lineup as Joshua Norris exits it. Buffalo’s oft-injured pivot left yesterday’s win over the Flyers with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day, head coach Lindy Ruff said.
Selected No. 14 overall in 2024, Helenius is the latest in a years-long slate of high-drafted Sabres forwards to get his first NHL look. The selection was nearly universally lauded at the time. Most had him touted as a top-10 selection after he rattled off 36 points in 51 games for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, as a 17-year-old.
Helenius took an unusual path, immediately signing his entry-level contract with Buffalo and reporting to Rochester last season at age 18. First-round picks out of Europe are permitted to do so, but teams and players usually opt to give their prospects a bit more runway in a familiar overseas environment before bringing them to the NHL or AHL.
He didn’t blow the doors off in Rochester last year, but in year two of his North American professional career, concerns over his offensive ceiling have quieted. A two-way center first and foremost, he’s now Rochester’s second-leading scorer with a 9-21–30 line in 34 games.
Given he’s within spitting distance of a point per game in the minors as a teenager, he’s more than deserving of at least a brief NHL trial. He entered the season as the organization’s No. 1 prospect, per NHL.com, a billing he’s lived up to so far.
While injuries have continued to plague Norris, limiting him to 19 appearances this year, he’s played the best hockey of his career when he’s been dressed. He’s been as natural a fit as hoped in Buffalo’s top six and has six goals and 17 points in 19 games, placing second on the team at 0.89 per game. That would also stand as a career-high for the 26-year-old and is his best per-game production in four years.
Sabres Activate Josh Norris From Injured Reserve
4:05 p.m.: The Sabres have activated Norris. Defenseman Zach Metsa is headed down to AHL Rochester in the corresponding move, per Heather Engel of NHL.com. Metsa was recalled from Rochester on Nov. 17 to serve as an extra defenseman with Michael Kesselring on injured reserve, but he’s been a healthy scratch in seven straight and hasn’t played an NHL game since a previous recall in October. The 27-year-old is without a point in four appearances this season but has a +3 rating in his first taste of the big leagues.
11:01 a.m.: Sabres center Joshua Norris will make his return to the lineup Monday against the Jets, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to reporters (including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News). The team will need to open a roster spot to activate him from injured reserve.
The injury-plagued Norris is wrapping up yet another multi-week absence. The 26-year-old sustained an upper-body injury while taking a faceoff late in Buffalo’s season opener and has spent nearly two months on the shelf as a result. He also suffered a season-ending mid-body injury last year, just a week after the Sabres acquired him from the Senators in the Dylan Cozens swap. Dating back to his pickup, he’s only played in four of 46 possible games for Buffalo.
He’ll be getting his feet wet in a significant role, centering the Sabres’ top line between Zach Benson and Tage Thompson. That’s where the Sabres planned to use him to start the year, but Benson was unavailable for the first three games of the season after taking a puck to the face in practice. Tonight marks the season debut for that line as a result.
If Norris plays every game the rest of the way for a total of 58 appearances, that would still mark one of the most durable seasons he’s had in his NHL career. He’s only ever topped the 60-game mark once during his 35-goal breakout with Ottawa back in 2021-22. Since then, shoulder issues have decimated his availability. He only managed eight appearances in 2022-23 and played 50-some games for the Sens in each of the following two seasons before they cut bait and sent him to Buffalo for Cozens.
When healthy, though, Norris has displayed the upside the Sharks saw in him when they selected him No. 19 overall in the 2019 draft. He’s spent nearly all of his time in the league as a top-six piece and has averaged 17:49 of ice time per game across 240 career appearances. Per 82 games, he scores at a 31-goal, 54-point pace. If he can finally stay healthy for an extended stretch, he’d fill a significant hole Buffalo has down the middle and could go a long way toward elevating the Sabres’ offense out of the bottom half of the league.
Snapshots: Sabres Injuries, Plattner, Blackwood
The Buffalo Sabres didn’t have an ideal start to their 2024-25 campaign last night, suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers. But perhaps even more worrying than the final scoreline was an injury suffered late in the game by first-line center Josh Norris. Today, the Sabres issued an update on Norris’ status, as well as the status of other key injured Sabres in advance of their game Saturday in Boston. According to the Sabres, Norris “is being evaluated and is not expected to play tomorrow,” while Zach Benson is confirmed to not be playing tomorrow, and Owen Power, who has been out with an illness, is hopeful to return for tomorrow’s game.
The key storyline here involves Norris, as his health has been a persistent nagging issue throughout his NHL career. Norris has undergone three surgeries on his left shoulder since 2019, and his shoulder issues have caused him to miss significant time, such as in the 2022-23 season when he got into just eight total games. The Sabres have classified the injury as “upper-body,” so we don’t know for sure at this stage if the injury has anything to do with Norris’ shoulder, but nonetheless it’s certainly not a positive development that Norris is already facing bad injury luck so early in what is a hugely important season for himself and the Sabres as a whole.
Other notes from around the league:
- San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner spoke to the media about the Sharks in person yesterday, something notable as according to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Plattner has not held such a media availability “in perhaps a decade.” Plattner spoke on various topics, expressing optimism about the direction of the Sharks and explaining in more detail the thought process behind some of the franchise’s bigger recent decisions. He also spoke about past regrets, specifically naming the loss of Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars and the team trading the eventual No. 3 overall pick (which became Tim Stutzle) to the Ottawa Senators as two of his biggest regrets in this recent era of Sharks hockey. Now led by 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini and a prospect pool ranked among the league’s best by public outlets, it appears Plattner’s optimism for the future is well-founded.
- Although Colorado Avalanche netminder Mackenzie Blackwood practiced with the team today as he continues his push to return to full health, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media (including the Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal) that Blackwood still isn’t quite fully ready and is questionable to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip. It does appear Blackwood isn’t too far off, though, and Bednar did reveal the team is considering potentially sending Blackwood out on a conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate as an option to help him get back up to full speed. Blackwood, once healthy, is expected to be the Avalanche’s undisputed No. 1 goalie. He posted a .913 save percentage in 37 games last season and is under contract at a $5.25MM AAV through the 2029-30 season.
East Notes: Sabres, Glass, McCabe
The Sabres are hoping to have a pair of veterans return to the lineup before the end of the regular season. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald notes that center Josh Norris (mid-body) and winger Jordan Greenway (lower body) are both progressing in their recovery from their respective injuries and that the plan is for them to play before the season ends in a couple of weeks. Norris has missed the last ten games and has only suited up three times for Buffalo after they acquired him from Ottawa at the trade deadline. He has 21 goals and 14 assists in 56 games this season. Greenway, meanwhile, has battled injury trouble throughout the year, limiting him to just 34 appearances where he has only eight points. While that’s not the ideal platform year heading into free agency, the two sides agreed on a two-year, $8MM extension before last month’s trade deadline.
Elsewhere in the East:
- The Devils will welcome back one of their newest forwards this afternoon against the Rangers. Team reporters Marc Ciampa and Sam Kasan relay that center Cody Glass will return to the lineup after missing the last week and a half due to a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old was acquired from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline and has been much more impactful since then. After notching just 15 points in 51 games with his former team, Glass has two goals and four assists through eight games with New Jersey.
- Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe won’t play tonight against Columbus and could be out longer, suggests Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. The 31-year-old suffered an undisclosed injury late in Wednesday’s victory over Florida but while head coach Craig Berube listed him as day-to-day, he didn’t have any specifics about the injury including how it happened. McCabe has been a key part of Toronto’s back end this season, notching 23 points, 135 blocks, and 118 hits in 66 games while averaging a career-high 21:31 per night of playing time.
East Notes: Norris, Greenway, Staal, Fabbro, Roy
The Buffalo Sabres are working on winning their second consecutive game without a pair of forwards. Earlier today, TSN reported that Sabres’ Joshua Norris wouldn’t make his return to Ottawa this evening as he remains away from the team due to a mid-body injury, and Jordan Greenway has missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury (Tweet Link).
Despite being acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline, Norris has only appeared in three games for the Sabres. He’s been productive in those contests, scoring one goal and one assist, averaging 18:36 of ice time a night, and maintaining a 54.0% playoff race. There’s no word on whether or not Norris’s season has ended, but he may be better served by fully healing from his current injury to start the 2025-26 season fresh for Buffalo.
Meanwhile, Greenway is similarly prone to injuries, especially this season. The gritty middle-six forward has only appeared in 34 of the Sabres’ 74 games this season, scoring three goals and eight points. Still, although he’s missed over half of the team’s regular season contests, the Sabres to a two-year, $8MM extension with mild trade protection.
Other injury notes from the Eastern Conference:
- According to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, Carolina Hurricanes’ captain Jordan Staal is unlikely to suit up tomorrow against the Washington Capitals. Staal is dealing with a lower-body injury, but it’s not considered severe, as Alexander notes he would only be withheld from the lineup for precautionary reasons. Depth forward Tyson Jost will likely take Staal’s place in the lineup should he miss a second consecutive contest.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets benefited greatly tonight from the return of defenseman Dante Fabbro from an undisclosed injury (Tweet Link). After tallying three points in the team’s recent win against the Vancouver Canucks, Fabbro missed against the Senators before returning tonight. In an equally promising game, Fabbro scored one goal and one assist in 20:41 of ice time.
- Defenseman Dylan McIlrath has already made his presence in the Washington Capitals lineup felt tonight after engaging in a heavyweight bout with Boston Bruins’ forward, Jeffrey Viel. The only reason McIlrath is in the lineup tonight is that Matt Roy is out for familial reasons, as reported by Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post. There’s no timeline for Roy’s return.
West Notes: Norris, Girard, Ohgren, Dach
While Ottawa ultimately moved center Josh Norris within the division when they traded him to the Sabres on trade deadline day this month, that wasn’t the only team they had serious talks with. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported earlier this week that the Sens held trade talks with the Canucks and Predators before the deadline but obviously, neither move materialized. Nashville certainly had ample salary cap space to absorb his $7.95MM cap charge along with three first-round picks but didn’t have the young impact center to send that Buffalo did in Dylan Cozens. Vancouver, meanwhile, would have been able to cover Norris’ cap charge as well (though longer term, it would have been a challenge) but also lacked the core center to go the other way with Elias Pettersson pulled out of trade talks before the deadline.
More from out West:
- Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard won’t play tonight against Montreal due to a lower-body injury, notes Corey Masisak of The Denver Post (Bluesky link). The 26-year-old suffered the injury late in Wednesday’s game against Toronto and was out the following night in Ottawa. Already missing Josh Manson, Colorado’s recently strengthened defensive depth is certainly getting tested. Girard has 22 points and 94 blocked shots in 66 games this season while averaging just under 21 minutes a night.
- After being recalled on Tuesday on an emergency basis, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Liam Ohgren has been returned to AHL Iowa. The 21-year-old got into the lineup on Wednesday but with Marcus Johansson returning today against Buffalo, the emergency conditions no longer existed, necessitating his demotion or conversion to a regular recall which would have counted against their post-deadline limit of four. Ohgren is in his first full season in North America and has five points in 24 games with Minnesota but has been quite productive on the farm, tallying 14 goals and 14 assists in 28 outings with Iowa.
- Blackhawks winger Colton Dach won’t play tonight against St. Louis due to an elbow injury, relays NHL.com’s Tracey Myers (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has been a regular for Chicago since being recalled in early January, getting into 25 games. In those outings, he has two goals and five assists along with 86 assists while averaging a little over 12 minutes a night in his first taste of NHL action.