Josh
Norris
C · BUF · Balanced · Very good
- PAL
- 77
- WAR
- 0.6
- Value
- 58
- PTS
- 34
2025-26№ 215 / 615
Josh Norris (Buffalo Sabres) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Josh Norris
#9CPlays: Centre · 61% of faceoffs
Buffalo Sabres
HEIGHT : 188 cm · WEIGHT : 89 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : May 4, 1999 · Oxford, United States
Drafted : 2017 · SJS · round 1, pick #19
Contract : $7,950,000 · 2022-23 → 2029-30 · Standard Contract · UFAM-NTC
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Buffalo Sabres | 17 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 2025-26 | Buffalo Sabres | 44 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 28 |
| 2024-25 | Buffalo Sabres | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2024-25 | Ottawa Senators | 53 | 20 | 13 | 33 | 34 |
| 2023-24 | Ottawa Senators | 50 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 22 |
| 2022-23 | Ottawa Senators | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2021-22 | Ottawa Senators | 66 | 35 | 20 | 55 | 16 |
| 2020-21 | Ottawa Senators | 56 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 13 |
| 2019-20 | Ottawa Senators | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NHL totals | 300 | 108 | 89 | 197 | 135 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Buffalo Sabres | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Playoff totals | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
Josh Norris: our analysis
2025-26 season: 44 GP, 13 G, 21 A, 34 PTS, +11 +/-, 15:50 TOI. WAR 0.6 (215th of 615) · PAL 77, very good.
In 2025-26, Josh Norris, 27, posts a PAL Rating of 77 out of 100 (very good), and his WAR of 0.6 ranks 215th among 615 regulars, in the top half.
His strengths: offense (86, among the best in the league), possession (81, well above average) and power play (71, above average). On the other hand, penalty kill (13, among the weakest in the league) and discipline (37, below average) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: finishing (+0.9).
A clear step forward: his PAL went from 55 in 2024-25 to 77; his WAR, though, went from 1.8 to 0.6.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 58 (good value) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Josh Norris's story
Growing up mainly in Germany while his father played there professionally, Josh Norris learned the game in a household steeped in hockey and later returned to the United States to continue his development. That early transatlantic childhood left him comfortable in varied hockey environments and able to progress through national development programs.
Norris spent two full seasons with the U.S. National Development Team in the USHL before committing to the University of Michigan for 2017–18. He helped Michigan reach the Frozen Four as a freshman and moved to a top-line centre role in his sophomore season, where a shoulder injury at the 2019 World Junior Championship cut that campaign short after an impressive scoring pace.
Selected 19th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by San Jose, Norris became part of a blockbuster trade in September 2018 that sent him to the Ottawa Senators. He signed an entry-level contract in May 2019 and dominated in the AHL with Belleville in 2019–20, earning rookie-of-the-year recognition and All-Rookie honours before establishing himself in Ottawa. His production climbed quickly: 17 goals in 2020–21 and a 35-goal season in 2021–22, which preceded an eight-year contract with the Senators.
Injuries, particularly recurring shoulder problems, interrupted several seasons and required surgery, yet Norris repeatedly returned to contribute offensively. A March 2025 trade sent him to the Buffalo Sabres, where he registered his first points and goal for the club shortly after arriving, though a torn oblique ended his debut partial season with Buffalo. The 2025–26 campaign saw more missed time due to injuries, but when available he remained a leading offensive presence, helping the Sabres win the Atlantic Division and advance in the playoffs.
Internationally, Norris has represented the United States with success: he won gold at the 2017 U18 World Championship and earned bronze and silver medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Junior Championships, serving as an alternate captain in 2019. He is best described as a centre who combines goal-scoring ability with playmaking instincts and a willingness to drive offence from the middle of the ice.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 14:06
- PP TOI/GP
- 1:24
- SH TOI/GP
- 1:10
- Pts/GP
- 0.29
- EV points
- 5
- Hits
- 23
- Blocks
- 14
- Takeaways
- 1
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 51.0 %
- Off. zone starts
- 36.8 %
- Faceoffs
- 50.0 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
33between 15 and 50 (80% range)
- Goals
- 16
- Assists
- 18
- Games
- 61
So far: 5 pts in 17 games. The team has played 17 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.65 pts per game (last season: 0.77).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
Trend
Trending up
- Points per game: 0.60 in 23-24, 0.77 in 25-26
- PAL Rating: 55 → 77
Outlook, age included
↑ Trending upAge 27: prime years
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
OV · OverallConfidence 72 %
83
Very good
- SK
- Skating
- 81
- Confidence 73 %
- ST
- Strength
- 76
- Confidence 77 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 74
- Confidence 75 %
- DU
- Durability
- 59
- Confidence 77 %
- CK
- Checking
- 76
- Confidence 77 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 72
- Confidence 50 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 74
- Confidence 77 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- 79
- Confidence 84 %
- PA
- Passing
- 77
- Confidence 72 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 83
- Confidence 72 %
- DF
- Defense
- 76
- Confidence 69 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 97
- Confidence 33 %
- EX
- Experience
- 70
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating81
- Top speed (35 %)37 · 86
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)9.354 · 86
- Distance /60 (20 %)16 · 65
- Speed consistency (15 %)35 · 69
ST — Strength76
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)4.28 · 77
- Body mass (50 %)-0.218 · 75
EN — Endurance74
- Ice time per game (45 %)15.9 · 78
- Total ice time (20 %)663 · 64
- Shift length (15 %)41.9 · 61
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)14.8 · 79
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)3.549 · 85
DU — Durability59
- Share of games played (100 %)0.678 · 59
CK — Checking76
- Hits /60 (70 %)4.814 · 77
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)2.646 · 71
- Season volume (10 %)3.219 · 61
FG — Fighting72
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.771 · 72
DI — Discipline74
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.019 · 76
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.821 · 64
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.933 · 82
FO — Faceoffs79
- Faceoff % (85 %)51.2 · 79
- Faceoffs /60 (15 %)45.9 · 82
PA — Passing77
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.764 · 79
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.568 · 80
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.001 · 69
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)4.277 · 71
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.286 · 63
SC — Scoring83
- Goals /60 (25 %)1.108 · 85
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.826 · 78
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)0.652 · 87
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.364 · 78
- xG per shot (10 %)0.084 · 80
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)12.4 · 77
DF — Defense76
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)0.04 · 78
- Relative xG against (20 %)-0.003 · 73
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.593 · 76
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)-0.14 · 63
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-1.071 · 82
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)57.3 · 78
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)2.847 · 78
PS — Penalty shot97
- Shootouts (60 %)35.8 · 90
- Penalty shots (40 %)30.2 · 93
EX — Experience70
- Career regular-season games (65 %)80
- Career playoff games (25 %)45
- NHL seasons (10 %)71
OV — Overall83
- SC · Scoring (20 %)83
- PA · Passing (20 %)77
- DF · Defense (20 %)76
- SK · Skating (12 %)81
- FO · Faceoffs (10 %)79
- EN · Endurance (8 %)74
- DI · Discipline (5 %)74
- ST · Strength (3 %)76
- CK · Checking (2 %)76
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 83 | 81 | 83 | 76 |
| 2024-25 | 80 | 80 | 85 | 72 |
| 2023-24 | 78 | 78 | 81 | 71 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
0.6
wins above replacement
215 of 615
PAL Rating
77/ 100
Performance · Very good
99 of 476 at the position
Value Rating
58/ 100
Good value
7.95 M$ · expected PAL 72
ProfileBalancedNeither end dominates
- Offense
- 77
- Defense
- 69
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 86
- Creation
- 48
- Shooting
- 66
- Possession
- 81
- Defense
- 67
- Discipline
- 37
- Power play
- 71
- Penalty kill
- 13
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
| Season | Team | WAR | PAL | Value | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | BUF | 0.6 | 77 | 58 | 7.95 M$ |
| 2024-25 | BUF | 1.8 | 55 | 25 | 7.95 M$ |
| 2023-24 | OTT | 1.2 | 43 | 17 | 7.95 M$ |
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
80/ 100
Very good
better than 80% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
89/ 100
Very good
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
46/ 100
Average
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 83 of 424 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 91
- Shot selection
- 74
- Penalties drawn
- 52
- Puck management
- 83
Defense
- Takeaways
- 22
- Discipline
- 34
- Safe zone exits
- 90
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
| Season | Team | IQ | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | BUF | 80 | 89 | 46 |
| 2024-25 | BUF | 22 | 67 | 11 |
| 2023-24 | OTT | 44 | 57 | 37 |
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
0.6
wins above replacement
-0.5 to 2.0 — 90% interval
215 of 615 forwards
+3.3 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +0.1
- EV defense
- +0.5
- Power play
- +0.0
- Penalty kill
- -0.0
- Shooting
- +0.9
- Penalties
- 0.0
- Average → replacement
- +1.7
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | BUF | 44 | 0.6 | -0.5 to 2.0 | 215/615 |
| 2024-25 | BUF | 56 | 1.8 | 0.0 to 3.6 | 89/596 |
| 2023-24 | OTT | 50 | 1.2 | -0.3 to 2.1 | 124/608 |
| 2022-23 | OTT | 8 | 0.3 | -0.1 to 0.8 | 256/617 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 132.6 km/h52nd percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 35.6 km/h64th percentileleague avg. 35.2 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 4087th percentileleague avg. 21
- Offensive zone time
- 40.6 %34th percentileleague avg. 43.1 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 59.5 km51st percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 4.50 km49th percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 40.9 %46th percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
- Neutral zone time
- 18.8 %80th percentileleague avg. 16.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 40.6 %39th percentileleague avg. 40.1 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 1947th percentile | 474th percentile | 21.1 %85th percentile |
| High danger | 963rd percentile | 274th percentile | 22.2 %60th percentile |
| Mid range | 550th percentile | 177th percentile | 20.0 %76th percentile |
| Long range | 153rd percentile | 199th percentile | 100.0 %100th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
VGK
CBJ
OTT
LAK
ANA
SJS
WSH
PHI
MTL
TOR
FLA
UTA
DAL
MIN
CHIJosh Norris: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Josh Norris have in 2026-27?
Josh Norris has 4 goals and 5 points (1 assist) in 17 games in 2026-27.
How old is Josh Norris?
Josh Norris is 27 years old: he was born on May 5, 1999.
How tall is Josh Norris, and how much does he weigh?
Josh Norris is 6'2" (188 cm) and weighs 196 lb (89 kg).
Where is Josh Norris from?
United States: Josh Norris was born in Oxford, Michigan, United States.
What team does Josh Norris play for?
Josh Norris plays for the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL, at C, wearing number 9.
Is Josh Norris injured?
No: Josh Norris is not on the latest NHL injury report. This answer is updated throughout the season.
How good is Josh Norris?
Josh Norris produced 0.6 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 215th of 615 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 77 out of 100: very good for his position.
How much does Josh Norris make?
Josh Norris earns $8.0M for the 2025-26 season. His Value Rating is 58 out of 100 (good value): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does Josh Norris's contract end?
Josh Norris's contract runs through the 2029-30 season; he will then be an unrestricted free agent. It includes a M-NTC clause.
Is Josh Norris overpaid?
No, he gives more than he costs. His Value rating is 58 out of 100 (good value), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is Josh Norris a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 215th of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
Is Josh Norris getting better?
Yes: his PAL rating went from 55 in 2024-25 to 77 in 2025-26 (out of 100, 50 = average player at his position).
How has Josh Norris played lately?
Over his last 10 games, Josh Norris has 3 points (3 goals, 0 assists).
What are Josh Norris's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Josh Norris has 300 games, 108 goals, 89 assists and 197 points. His best season: 2021-22, with 55 points in 66 games.
Where was Josh Norris drafted?
Josh Norris was drafted 19th overall (round 1) by San Jose Sharks in 2017.
Is Josh Norris better at home or on the road?
No real difference: in 2026-27, he averages 0.33 points per game at home (3 in 9 games) and 0.25 on the road (2 in 8 games).
How does Josh Norris perform in the playoffs?
In the playoffs, Josh Norris has 10 games and 3 points in his career. His pace (0.30 points per game) is lower than his regular-season pace (0.66).
Which player is most similar to Josh Norris?
Clayton Keller: he is the player at his position whose PAL profile (the 0-to-100 dimensions) is closest to his in 2025-26.
Clayton Keller's page →Is Josh Norris a good fantasy pick?
A useful depth pick: our projection has him at 33 points in 2026-27, or 0.54 points per game.
Is Josh Norris related to anyone famous?
Yes: Dwayne Norris (father, Canadian former NHL player).
What is Josh Norris's nationality?
Josh Norris is American. Internationally: Team USA — gold at the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship; bronze at the 2018 World Junior Championship; silver at the 2019 World Junior Championship.
What awards has Josh Norris won?
AHL All-Rookie Team 2019–20 ; AHL First All-Star Team 2019–20 ; Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (AHL top rookie) 2019–20 ; NHL All-Rookie Team 2020–21.
How many championships has Josh Norris won?
1: Atlantic Division title with the Buffalo Sabres (2025–26).
Where did Josh Norris play before turning pro?
Oakland Jr. Grizzlies (midget); U.S. National Development Team in the USHL — U17 in 2015–16 (24 games), U18 in 2016–17 (25 games); University of Michigan (Michigan Wolverines) 2017–18 and 2018–19.
How many points is Josh Norris projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 33 points in 61 games in 2026-27 (15 to 50 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Buffalo Sabres teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)