Joshua Norris, what can you say, this guy just cannot catch a break. Just one game into the Buffalo Sabres 2025-26 NHL season, and they will be without their starting centre. The timeline is still unclear, however head coach Lindy Ruff simply used the phrase “significant time.”
Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/SgYsbkIhUa
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) October 11, 2025
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What We Know
Norris left Thursday night’s game against the New York Rangers off of a faceoff in the third period. He did not return to the game. Ruff told reporters that it was an upper-body injury. According to Ruff, it is a completely new injury, nothing related to issues he had in the past. We are still unclear just how much time he will miss. Outside of the significant time designation from Ruff, we don’t know anything about when he may return.
What’s Next?
Hopefully soon there will be an update about when Norris may return. Until then, the Sabres will be without their starting centre. The Sabres will most likely look internally to fill the void while Norris remains injured. Jiri Kulich was rumoured to start as the Sabres centre, with the idea that Tage Thompson could help him along offensively. He will most likely become the go to guy now with Norris out.
Norris has really struggled to stay healthy in his career. This is a massive blow to the Sabres who traded for the forward last year. They shut him down after three games due to an injury last year as well. For context, Norris has now played four games with the Sabres. He left two of them injured. Both Norris and the Sabres just cannot catch a break from the injury bug.
The Sabres play Saturday evening against the Boston Bruins, this game will give Sabres fans a glimpse of their new forward lineups. And while other players like Zach Benson and Jordan Greenway should return sooner than later, Sabres fans should get used to not seeing Norris on the ice.
Main Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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