A guy making just shy of $8m/year for the next six years who has literally
never managed to complete a full season of play in the NHL due to frequent recurring shoulder injuries.
Ryan Murray was more consistently available than he's been.
I would not consider that a worthwhile risk.
EDIT: Side-by-side comparison of Murray's and Norris' games played, by age:
Age | Murray GP | Norris GP |
19 | 66 | 0 (17/36 NCAA) |
20 | 12 | 3 (56/60 AHL) |
21 | 82 | 56 |
22 | 60 | 66 |
23 | 44 | 8 |
24 | 56 | 50 |
Started at 19 because neither of them were playing NHL games before that age. Cut off at 25 because this is Norris' age 25 season, which is obviously not done yet; Murray had only 27 games that season and after it was no longer a Blue Jacket.