SNAPSHOTS: Senators insist they're just being cautious with centre Josh Norris

'We didn't plan to scrimmage him from Day 1. We just want to make sure that we're on top of it and he's fully ready.'

Published Sep 21, 2024  •  4 minute read

Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green is seen on the ice during practice Saturday in Gatineau. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

The Ottawa Senators tried to calm the waters Saturday.

Fans of the Senators had their panic meter turned up high Saturday when the club held an intra-squad game at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau without either Josh Norris or goaltender Linus Ullmark in uniform.

Understandably with Norris coming off the third shoulder surgery of his career last March and Ullmark as the club’s biggest acquisition in the off-season, there was some cause for concern.

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But Senators coach Travis Green did his best to calm the waters after he wrapped up his second practice of the day early Saturday afternoon.

It turns out Ullmark was nothing more than a maintenance day.

And the Senators opted not to have Norris participate in either of the club’s scrimmages the last couple of days as a precaution. He was on the ice with the second group later in the afternoon and was taking part in battle drills after the formal part of the skate had ended.

“He’s doing well,” Green said. “We didn’t plan to scrimmage him from Day 1. We just want to make sure that we’re on top of it and he’s fully ready. He’s gone through a lot with the surgeries.

“There’s no need to rush him, especially when you’re tired and you’re grinding. He’s actually still on the ice doing some battle drills. I’m confident that he’ll be in a game sooner or later.”

People have every right to be concerned.

Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, the mayor of Gatineau, met with Senators owner Michael Andlauer on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

The reality is the Senators need a healthy Norris if they’re going to push for a playoff spot next spring and that’s why there was so much concern when his role was limited the last couple of days.

Norris is ahead of where he was last year at this point because he wasn’t even a participant in camp. The Senators want to be cautious and make sure that he’s ready to play Oct. 10 in the opener against the Florida Panthers.

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HEADING OVER THE RIVER

The Senators are committed to attracting more fans from the Gatineau region this season and that’s why they skated at the home of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Olympiques on Saturday.

New Senators owner Michael Andlauer wants to expand the marketplace and this is part of a community outreach. Of course, when the Senators build a new rink at LeBreton Flats they’ll be in close proximity to downtown Ottawa and Gatineau.

“I’m very pleased that the Senators are here today,” said Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette. “We can see here today there’s an interest in Gatineau and there’s an opening here for the Senators.

“The club can get some benefits from that opening.”

The players are pleased to see the club making the effort to get people to across the Ottawa River to see the Senators.

“It was really fun to come here this morning and see the fans on the Quebec side,” said centre David Perron, signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. “This is a great. This is a moment where the team is heading in the right direction, and why not try to bring more kids on board to live the years that this team will be competitive for a number of years.

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Claude Giroux skates with the puck on Saturday in Gatineau. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

“When I lived in St. Louis, some years were tough and then we were really competitive. It takes some time to build a competitive team and hopefully that’s what we’re doing this year.”

Veteran forward Claude Giroux, who suited up for three seasons with the Olympiques at the old Bob Guertin Arena and was the club’s captain, was impressed with the new digs his former junior team calls home.

“I played at The Bob. It was great to play for this organization for three years and I really enjoyed it,” Giroux said. “It’s my first time playing in this building and it’s awesome. Seeing the fans, I saw familiar faces from a long time ago, so it was great to see them again.”

THE GAMES BEGIN

The battle for jobs will ramp up Sunday at the Senators’ camp.

The club will open the exhibition season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena. It will be the first time this club has played under Green, but he’ll be using these games for evaluation.

It’s anybody’s guess what the lineup might look like. The Senators and Leafs will face off Tuesday in Ottawa.

“We take every exhibition game and we want to get something out of it as far as our team play, but also evaluation,” Green said. “We’ll watch some players to see who’s playing well that’s supposed to be on the team or trying to make the team.”

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Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations, senior VP Dave Poulin, Green and the rest of the staff are trying to figure out where everybody fits in the organization.

“You’ll start to see us put some different line combinations together in these exhibition games to see how they blend and how they mix,” Green said. “We’ll have penalty killers, power-play guys, we’re going to have a lot of new penalty killers so we’re going to try to fast-trick some guys into that scenario.”

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