The Senators have placed Josh Norris on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) after leaving the Feb. 28 game against the Nashville Predators with an apparent shoulder injury. While skating behind the net, Norris received a relatively light check and went shoulder-first into the back of the net, hitting the center post and skating off without moving his left shoulder at all.
There was immediate concern for Norris as his left shoulder had already been attended to several times. Norris had attention to the shoulder during the 2019 World Junior Championship, at the beginning of the 2022-23 NHL season, and again in January of the same season which held him out the remainder of the year and into the 2023-24 season.
It is no secret there is concern for Norris’ left shoulder. There is no timetable for the recovery of this injury yet, but with two surgeries and extensive rehabilitation on the shoulder already, fans are prepared for some bad news. Now that Norris has been placed on LTIR, the Senators have cap flexibility for the foreseeable future.
How the Senators Can Use LTIR Space
There are three things the Senators can do with the $7.95 million in cap flexibility with Norris on LTIR.
The first, and near-guaranteed option, is to call up some players and have roster flexibility. The Senators already recalled forward Zack MacEwen and will likely make another call-up. They have been playing the season right up against the salary cap ceiling and have played multiple games under-manned because they couldn’t recall a player due to the salary cap. Now they will be able to add to their roster and be able to rotate players in and out of the lineup depending on who is deserving.
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Second, the Senators can add to the roster via trade. There was chatter about the Senators being conservative buyers at the March 8 trade deadline, but now they have gone on a poor stretch of games and it looks like they might be leaning toward being sellers. With the deadline approaching, there is the possibility they acquire a player to help them this season and further down the road if there are multiple years on the deal or a restricted free agent such as Arthur Kaliyev. They can add now, and figure out the cap space in the summer.
Third, they can help facilitate trades by taking on extra money for this season. They are in no place to be doing this for any long-term deals, but if they can get an extra pick or two for the upcoming draft by taking on a few million in cap space, that would be wise. Some teams may even look to move a one-year contract which the Senators can accommodate with Norris on LTIR.
Regardless of what the Senators do, nothing will be as valuable to this team as having Norris healthy and playing well. He has struggled since Christmas and it is clear he wasn’t playing his best hockey and was capable of more than the 30 points he produced in 55 games. An injury like this is never good, but it happening at this time, rather than while the team was playing well and hoping for a playoff spot, can be twisted as a positive.