Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – Before Josh Norris was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in March, he had torn his oblique muscle. He was able to play with it, and it felt OK, but it kept getting worse.
In three games with Buffalo he had a goal and an assist, but it started getting worse,
“It was a torn oblique, but I’m feeling good now," Norris said.
"That happened originally and when I got here it just kept getting worse. I probably came back a little early originally back in February and it really didn’t get better.”
Norris said he tore it in early February and it just flared up again. Many injuries can be played through, but this was different. Norris said,
“I think if you play with that, especially at this stage of the season, then you could really mess your summer training up, so I didn’t think it was worth that, especially given my history the last couple of years not being able to train properly (shoulder surgery), so I thought it was important this summer was a healthy one and one where I don’t have to worry about any injuries.
“It’s a big summer for me, I’m excited to just be healthy and be able to train and not have to worry about anything.”
It’s hard getting to know your new teammates when you’re not part of the group. Norris said one of the guys helped him quite a bit,
“I moved in with Ryan McLeod, so that was great, he offered to take me in right away, so it was nice to get out of the hotel, that’s not the funnest place to be for a whole month, so I’ve had a lot of dinners with guys and spending time away from the rink.”
Norris hasn’t been here long, but he knows how toxic this situation has become in this town, not making the playoffs for an NHL record 14 years. He said,
“The core guys and the guys that have been here for a long time are fed up with losing and I know the city is too and the fans, so at the end of the day internally we want to change this and we will.”
Owen Power said he got good news on his injured knee. He will not need surgery, but will need around two months of rehab.
Bo Byram is going to be a restricted free agent and on Saturday he was asked if this was a place he could see himself signing long-term. The defenseman said,
“Yes for sure, I’ve been lucky enough to come in and get a really good opportunity and play important and meaningful minutes and I’ve really enjoyed that and I feel like I’ve taken some strides in my game, so for sure, we have a great crew of guys and it’s tough when things don’t work out in terms of success for the team, but we’ll regroup and I’ll talk to my camp, talk to Kevyn and we’ll figure out what the next step is, so I’m excited for that process, Kevyn’s great to work with and very communicative of what he wants and what he thinks is best for myself and also the team.”
Byram still has two years before he can become an unrestricted free agent.