Player Discussion Josh Norris C 6’1” - Part 2

[SquidNasty]

If this is the case, it's very disappointing how it's been handled.

I can't imagine that this concern would have arisen yesterday, yet, the team did nothing to shore up the C ice position in the summer.

Especially since Pinto is unsigned and will be starting the season from behind.

If there were serious doubts about Norris, why not go out and get a guy like Ryan Johansen, who was traded for nothing with 50% retention?

He can play C and slide over to RW if Norris is good. Wouldn't that have been a better investment than Tarasenko, who we're now trying to make play LW for the first time in his career?

I mean those moves were all made before he tweaked it in camp... during free agent frenzy it would have made 0 sense to sign/trade a big name C

 

[Burrowsaurus]

If this is the case, it's very disappointing how it's been handled.

I can't imagine that this concern would have arisen yesterday, yet, the team did nothing to shore up the C ice position in the summer.

Especially since Pinto is unsigned and will be starting the season from behind.

If there were serious doubts about Norris, why not go out and get a guy like Ryan Johansen, who was traded for nothing with 50% retention?

He can play C and slide over to RW if Norris is good. Wouldn't that have been a better investment than Tarasenko, who we're now trying to make play LW for the first time in his career?

Well… sens management is not particularly,…good

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

I mean those moves were all made before he tweaked it in camp... during free agent frenzy it would have made 0 sense to sign/trade a big name C

"0 sense" is a bit of a stretch considering his injury history, even if you were hoping he didn't "tweak" it. Maybe the fallback was "we think Pinto is ready to step up"... but that hasn't exactly worked out so far...

It probably made less sense to give another RWer $5M when you already had Batherson, Giroux and Kubalik on the roster...

 

[SquidNasty]

"0 sense" is a bit of a stretch considering his injury history, even if you were hoping he didn't "tweak" it. Maybe the fallback was "we think Pinto is ready to step up"... but that hasn't exactly worked out so far...

It probably made less sense to give another RWer $5M when you already have Batherson, Giroux and Kubalik on the roster...

If one of the three or four most coveted free agents agrees to sign with your small market team for a year, you make the move.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Take this with a massive grain of salt but I found this post on reddit, not encouraging.

A buddy of mine who is close with a member of the Sens' medical staff confirmed to him that the team is "worried" about Josh Norris' lingering shoulder issues. SUPPOSEDLY, there is legitimate concern this injury could require another procedure.​

​

The account is a couple of years old and has been posting in the Sens sub somewhat regularly, don't think it's a troll.

Do we expect much more. He hurts his shoulder pretty regularly. Hurt it again last year. Came back immediately hurt it again. Can’t even golf when hes apparently healed. Has a no contact on. None of this is normal lol

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

If one of the three or four most coveted free agents agrees to sign with your small market team for a year, you make the move.

a) Tarasenko was not one of the three or four most coveted free agents, which is why he had to settle for a 1-year deal in Ottawa. If he was coveted, he wouldn't be here.
b) That's not the approach a thoughtful management team would ever take. You need to add, "if he helps our team more than allocating the money somewhere else would".

I think Tarasenko will have a fine year, I expect ~25 goals, 50 points.

But considering that he's being played out of position and we may start the season without our #2 or #3 centers... it's not looking like the best use of cap.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

If one of the three or four most coveted free agents agrees to sign with your small market team for a year, you make the move.

You do what’s best for you team. Not see who the big free agents are and sign which wants to sign for you

 

[BondraTime]

If one of the three or four most coveted free agents agrees to sign with your small market team for a year, you make the move.

Tarasenko was certianly not that at this point in his career. There is a reason he circled back to Ottawa.

 

[Micklebot]

You do what’s best for you team. Not see who the big free agents are and sign which wants to sign for you

Is what's best for the team to assume surgery won't be successful and pass up on a winger that will help fill a need for top 6 scoring just because of the hypothetical chance Norris wasn't going to be ready in 3 months?

 

[BUCKLE UP]

I can live with Stutzle/Pinto/Grieg down the middle if the whispers are true.

 

[Micklebot]

Tarasenko was certianly not that at this point in his career. There is a reason he circled back to Ottawa.

Who were the top 4 or 5 UFA available this offseason?

Orlov, Barbashev, O'Reilly, Burtuzzi and Klingberg?

 

[Icelevel]

I can live with Stutzle/Pinto/Grieg down the middle if the whispers are true.

That’s not good enough for what we’re trying to accomplish here.

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

Is what's best for the team to assume surgery won't be successful and pass up on a winger that will help fill a need for top 6 scoring just because of the hypothetical chance Norris wasn't going to be ready in 3 months?

It depends, with the acquisition of Kubalik, was top 6 scoring going to be a problem? Prior to signing Tarasenko, we had Tkachuk, Giroux, Kubalik and Batherson pencilled in as top-6 wingers.

Would we have been better off signing Pinto to the Morgan Frost contract (2x2.4), a 3rd line winger like Fast, Johansson or Donatio for $2.25-2.5M, and then being able to carry an extra F+D plus having cap space for a November/December trade acquisition, should an opportunity arise?

Who were the top 4 or 5 UFA available this offseason?

Orlov, Barbashev, O'Reilly, Burtuzzi and Klingberg?

TSN had Orlov, Bertuzzi, Zucker, O'Reilly and Killorn as the top 5 on their "big board". Barbashev probably would have been on there but he signed before.

Tarasenko was 7, behind those guys and Compher.

Kane was 8 and Klingberg was 9.

 

[Micklebot]

It depends, with the acquisition of Kubalik, was top 6 scoring going to be a problem? Prior to signing Tarasenko, we had Tkachuk, Giroux, Kubalik and Batherson pencilled in as top-6 wingers.

Would we have been better off signing Pinto to the Morgan Frost contract (2x2.4), a 3rd line winger like Fast, Johansson or Donatio for $2.25-2.5M, and then being able to carry an extra F+D plus having cap space for a November/December trade acquisition, should an opportunity arise?

I just don't think the answer is obvious, especially when you have to forecast health 3 to 4 months down the road.

 

[Micklebot]

TSN had Orlov, Bertuzzi, Zucker, O'Reilly and Killorn as the top 5 on their "big board".

Tarasenko was 7, behind those guys and Compher.

Kane was 8 and Klingberg was 9.

Yeah that seems fair, I'm just not sure how big of a gap there is between 5 and 8 or 9 is all.

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

I just don't think the answer is obvious, especially when you have to forecast health 3 to 4 months down the road.

Yeah, no answer is ever obvious, any decision could go any which way.

But the question is, was that the best decision we could have made at the time?

I like Tarasenko, he certainly adds a ton of experience, good depth and is a fun name to have on the team.

But seeing how he's been used in camp so far, it seems like were trying to shoe-horn him onto a roster in which he doesn't fit all that well, and his addition is making it very difficult to sign Pinto.

Maybe Pinto gets done and DJ spreads out the RWs on three lines and it all works. We'll see.

 

[Micklebot]

Yeah, no answer is ever obvious, any decision could go any which way.

But the question is, was that the best decision we could have made at the time?

I like Tarasenko, he certainly adds a ton of experience, good depth and is a fun name to have on the team.

But seeing how he's been used in camp so far, it seems like were trying to shoe-horn him onto a roster in which he doesn't fit all that well.

Wingers flipping sides to me is a no issue, in the OZ it's more about F1, F2, F3 anyways, guys will cross on the rush to create confusion, I am not concerned.

I will hold off judgement of how he fits in come reg season when the vets stop going through the motions and are actually going 100%

 

[swiftwin]

It depends, with the acquisition of Kubalik, was top 6 scoring going to be a problem? Prior to signing Tarasenko, we had Tkachuk, Giroux, Kubalik and Batherson pencilled in as top-6 wingers.

Would we have been better off signing Pinto to the Morgan Frost contract (2x2.4), a 3rd line winger like Fast, Johansson or Donatio for $2.25-2.5M, and then being able to carry an extra F+D plus having cap space for a November/December trade acquisition, should an opportunity arise?

I was one of the only people around here arguing this, and was one of the only people who wasn't a fan of the Tarasenko signing.

 

[BondraTime]

Who were the top 4 or 5 UFA available this offseason?

Orlov, Barbashev, O'Reilly, Burtuzzi and Klingberg?

Of guys that teams were vying for? I'm sure each of these guys had multiple long term, high salary offers for what they bring from multiple teams.

Graves
Gudas
Mayfield
Killorn
O'Rielly
Wood
Orlov
Zucker
Barbashev
Bertuzzi
Compher
Korpi
Likely quite a few more

He wasn't taking his time to sign because he was looking for the right fit, he couldn't get what he was asking for from teams, outside of Ottawa, either long or short-term. He's still a good player, but teams aren't valuing him the way he was valued 3/4 years ago.

He was likely one of the biggest names available, but teams weren't going out of their way to try and sign him.

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

Wingers flipping sides to me is a no issue, in the OZ it's more about F1, F2, F3 anyways, guys will cross on the rush to create confusion, I am not concerned.

I will hold off judgement of how he fits in come reg season when the vets stop going through the motions and are actually going 100%

Tarasenko has been pretty upfront about being much more comfortable on the right side, though. So I don't think he agrees.

Batherson and Giroux seem much more open to playing LW, but DJ doesn't seem keen on it (at least so far).

 

[Flamingo]

Take this with a massive grain of salt but I found this post on reddit, not encouraging.

A buddy of mine who is close with a member of the Sens' medical staff confirmed to him that the team is "worried" about Josh Norris' lingering shoulder issues. SUPPOSEDLY, there is legitimate concern this injury could require another procedure.​

​

The account is a couple of years old and has been posting in the Sens sub somewhat regularly, don't think it's a troll.

Welcome to our Forsberg ('s ankles) years.

 

[Micklebot]

Tarasenko has been pretty upfront about being much more comfortable on the right side, though. So I don't think he agrees.

Batherson and Giroux seem much more open to playing LW, but DJ doesn't seem keen on it (at least so far).

Really?here's what he's said:

"I’ve played right all my life but I can try left,” Tarasenko said. “Sometimes in the game you end up in different situations. It’s nice to try something new and I’m good to see how it goes.

“During a game you switch positions and it depends on how a team plays. You can end up on the left side eventually or vice-versa on the right side. The hardest part is the exits (from the zone) because it’s a different approach when the puck is on the wall but it’s doable."

 

[redbrick98]

Alarm bells if Norris ant play next game

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

Really?here's what he's said:

"I’ve played right all my life but I can try left,” Tarasenko said. “Sometimes in the game you end up in different situations. It’s nice to try something new and I’m good to see how it goes.

“During a game you switch positions and it depends on how a team plays. You can end up on the left side eventually or vice-versa on the right side. The hardest part is the exits (from the zone) because it’s a different approach when the puck is on the wall but it’s doable."

At his welcoming news conference, when asked about positioning, Tarasenko basically said it's up to the coaches, but also made a point to say that he'd played his whole career at right wing.

While the veteran winger says “it’s nice to try something new”, he also makes it clear that his preference is to be a right winger — even though he’s a left shot. “I played right all my life,” says Tarasenko. “I never played left.”

Sounds like a guy who's trying to not ruffle feathers early on but wants to be a RWer because he's always been a RWer.

But my point remains. We've committed $5M to this guy and really want him (need him) to be successful. Why not put him in the position where he's the most comfortable?

The guy has had an awesome career at RW. So play him at RW.

It's already an adjustment moving to a new team. It'd take some time to gel on his natural side. Why make it even harder by asking him to do something on the ice that he's never done before?

If we're 15 games in and he's thriving, then sure, start experimenting. But let him get settled first and make it as easy as possible for that to happen.

 

[vandelay]

Take this with a massive grain of salt but I found this post on reddit, not encouraging.

A buddy of mine who is close with a member of the Sens' medical staff confirmed to him that the team is "worried" about Josh Norris' lingering shoulder issues. SUPPOSEDLY, there is legitimate concern this injury could require another procedure.​

​

The account is a couple of years old and has been posting in the Sens sub somewhat regularly, don't think it's a troll.

Take this with a grain of salt as well:
I'm reading all over the internet that josh Norris is taking contact, wearing a contact jersey and taking faceoffs. Apparently, knowing his shoulder is hanging on by a thread and since the new owner doesn't like his face, he wants him out of sight by any means possible.