Frustrated center Josh Norris leaves Senators game due to injury

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Josh Norris headed straight for the locker room and threw his stick in frustration.

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It was not a good sign for the young center or the Ottawa Senators.

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Saturday’s 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes came at a price as Norris left after taking a third-period face-off with what initially appeared to be a left shoulder injury, in judge by TV reruns.

Norris did not return to the game. He was passed by reporters as the captain Brady Tkachuk was holding a post-game scrimmage but, considering Norris has had shoulder issues in the past, it could be a big hit for his National Hockey League team.

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He scored his first goal of the season in the first half.

“There are no updates on him,” said Senators head coach DJ Smith said. « He left. It was a precaution. I will talk to the coaches, but he couldn’t come back.

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No one wanted to speculate Saturday about the extent of the injury, but the Senators are hoping it wasn’t as bad as Norris’ reaction appeared to be.

« It’s just scary honestly. Hope he’s okay. It’s not what you want to see, especially with this type of player, » Ottawa center Shane Pinto said.

CHYCHRUN STAY AWAY

Patience shall be a virtue for those who wait and see Jakob Chychrun dress this season.

Arizona Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong had told reporters that Chychrun would join the club on Tuesday in Montreal, but he is back in the Scottsdale area instead and there is no specific timeline for his return to the roster. He is listed week by week as his recovery from off-season wrist surgery continues.

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Coach André Tourigny told this newspaper on Saturday that Chychrun was « doing well » but is likely still « a few weeks away » after visiting the New York specialist on Friday who performed the procedure. He underwent surgery to clean up the scar tissue in July and was not cleared to return to skating with the team.

While we hoped Chychrun would be playing for the Coyotes within a week or two, it’s unclear when he’ll play for the first time this season. Arizona wraps up its current road trip Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

That won’t make business any easier for Armstrong, who is actively pursuing a trade for Chychrun and wants a deal done sooner rather than later.

Several teams, including the Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings, have studied the NHL defense. All are thought to have had talks with the Coyotes about Chychrun.

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Demand for Chychrun is high and that’s a big part of why no deal has been reached. Bidding is expected to begin with two first-round picks and a top-end prospect. After dealing the 7th overall pick in 2022 to Alex DeBrincat, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is hesitant to trade his first pick for three straight years.

Teams love the 6-2 Chychrun because he has strong attacking ability and good size. He has three years left on a contract that will earn him $4.6 million per season, and that’s another reason why he’s become such a big commercial target.

Getting him back to good health would go a long way in helping the Coyotes make a trade.

SIMILAR PATHS

Smith and Tourigny spent a month together last spring with Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship as assistant coaches by Claude Julien Personal.

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They followed similar paths to make it to the NHL, paying their junior hockey dues and also working as NHL assistants.

“There is a similar style in our personalities and in the way we see and coach the game,” Tourigny said on Saturday. “We are both very intense, we are very emotional and neither of us will ever change as people. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. What you see is what you get.

« We both have great relationships with the players because of the type of people we are. »

A former coach of the Ottawa 67’s, Tourigny is going through what Smith went through in his first three years behind the Senators bench. They exchanged ideas on how to approach the situation.

« We talked about what it’s like to enter certain buildings when the other team is fully loaded, » Smith said. “In recent years, (Tourigny) has had a lot of injuries and we have had a lot too. You walk in and you’re understaffed.

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“At the same time, we knew it was about development and we knew what our goal was. (Tourigny too), so that makes things a little easier. It doesn’t make it easier when you’re not winning matches, but it does make it easier when you know what the end goal is.

THE LAST WORDS

Former Senators winger Andrew McBain was in the arena on Saturday to watch his 22-year-old son, Jack, a Coyotes center. Andrew McBain played 114 games with Ottawa from 1992 to 1994. Signed as a free agent, he played the first game in franchise history on October 8, 1992 against the Montreal Canadiens. McBain ended his stint in Ottawa with 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points. Jack was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Wild in 2018… Senators goaltender Cam Talbot hasn’t yet been cleared for photos as he recovers from a broken rib, but the hope is he’ll be back in the next few weeks. He could return in the first week of November.