The Buffalo Sabres are at a point where the conversation has to turn from waiting on a spark to wondering who stays in the long run, and Josh Norris is starting to look like the kind of name that could surface in trade talk.
Mike Gould of Daily Faceoff recently pegged Norris as a player who might draw interest because of the upside that still comes with him:
"The Sabres have to figure out the best way to move forward from here. With natural centers in short supply, Norris will likely continue to carry a certain degree of intrinsic value. He could be an appealing buy-low piece for a rebuilding team in search of a bit more experience down the middle."
That fits the way Norris has been viewed for most of his career. The formula has always been simple: if he’s healthy, he produces.
But that hasn’t been the case in 2026-27. He has played in all 15 of Buffalo’s games, yet he has only three points - two goals and one assist - and a minus-six rating.
Most nights, he’s barely been noticeable.
Lindy Ruff has already tried moving the 27-year-old Michigan native around the lineup, including a look beside Tage Thompson on the top line and an occasional stint on the fourth line. None of it has changed the story.
At even strength, Buffalo has actually held up fine with Norris on the ice. The Sabres’ expected goal share at 5-on-5 is 52.1% when he’s out there, according to Natural Stat Trick. The problem is that Buffalo can’t keep living with its highest-paid forward producing at a 17-point pace.
That’s why a move before the 2027 NHL trade deadline in March wouldn’t be shocking. Norris, a University of Michigan product, could become part of a bigger reshuffling if Buffalo decides to rework its forward group.
The Sabres have the pieces to do it, too. They have more forwards than they can comfortably use, along with defensive prospects and future draft picks that could be packaged in a deal for another difference-maker up front. If Buffalo wants to chase a game-changing addition, it has the ammo to at least explore it.
For now, though, the Sabres would settle for Norris getting back anywhere near the level he showed last season, when he put up 34 points in 44 games.
And he’s hardly the only issue.
Ryan McLeod and Josh Doan have also scored just three points apiece, Jason Zucker has only one point in six games since returning from injury, and Konsta Helenius struggled before getting hurt after entering the year with Calder Trophy expectations.
Buffalo has only four forwards who have been consistently effective - Tage Thompson, Zach Benson, Jack Quinn and Noah Ostlund - and its top four on defense, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power and Olen Zellweger, have mostly done their part as well.
The rest has been uneven. The Sabres have had stretches of weak play from the other 12 skaters they use on a nightly basis, and their goaltending has also been shaky at times, even if that has improved recently.
What Buffalo really needs is a more complete effort. Last season, the Sabres were hard to play against in every zone and surged to fourth in the league in points with 109.
They forechecked hard, battled on the walls and blocked shots. That edge has shown up too rarely through 15 games.
It’s not just one player dragging them down. It’s a team-wide problem, and Lindy Ruff’s biggest job over the coming weeks and months is getting that urgency back.
The Sabres’ next chance comes Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Sabres Suddenly Have An Internal Scoring Question They Cant Ignore
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A recall from the AHL would not solve everything, but it could give the lineup a different look and buy the club some time while the bigger scoring questions linger. The Amerks have a few forwards who have put themselves into the discussion, and Buffalos front office now has to decide whether one of those internal options is worth a look before the pressure to produce grows any louder. [Read more 🡒]