Josh Norris returns, Sens waive veteran forward to make room

It's been a tough season for Ottawa Senators fans. Stop me if you've heard that before...

In all seriousness, with some offseason additions and with their young players continuing to progress, the Senators were expected to take a step forward this season. Instead, they stumbled out of the gate and have failed to capitalize on the momentum of the offseason.

An early season injury to star forward Josh Norris proved to be too much for this team to handle and they've essentially been struggling to find their footing ever since. Today though, the Senators placed veteran forward Jake Lucchini on waivers and many fans feel like this is a move to free up a roster spot for Norris' return.

No official word on Norris just yet, but don't be surprised if he's in the lineup for the team's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow evening. 

As for Lucchini, I don't expect him to generate much interest on the waiver wire. The 27 year old native of Trail, BC has played just 11 games for the Senators this season, putting up a single goal. He's mostly been a career minor league guy playing for the Belleville Senators, Laval Rocket and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins over the past six seasons. He's been a point producer at the AHL level, but his game has never really transitioned well to the NHL and he'd be a depth contributor on almost any team in the league.

As for Norris, I'm hopeful that he returns back in full health and goes on to improve upon the promise he showed last season. The 23 year old Michigan native put up a career high 35 goals and 55 points in just 66 games for the Sens last season and ended up negotiating himself a big, fat pay day last offseason. He's in the first season of an eight year deal that pays him $7.95 million per season and looked to be on track to deliver value for the Sens this season before a bad break just five games into the campaign. So much of the Senators' success is riding on his shoulders, so again here's hoping that he gets back to full health.