East Notes: Senators Centers, Forsberg, Tarasov

The Senators have had some tough luck when it comes to their center situation this season as several players have been injured.  The latest was Josh Norris who is dealing with a shoulder injury.  GM Pierre Dorion told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that the youngster is currently getting a second opinion but for the time being, the hope is that he’ll be able to return within the next three to four weeks.  Norris leads all Ottawa players in goals with 18 in 36 games so far.

They may get Colin White back by then as well as Dorion indicated that they’re targeting February 26th as a target date for his return.  White has missed the entire season so far due to a dislocated shoulder suffered back in October.  The timeline for him to return was four to six months and it appears that, barring any setbacks, he’ll return in the middle of that window.  As for Shane Pinto, the youngster is expected to be re-assessed in mid-March to determine if he’ll be able to suit up at all down the stretch for the Senators or if his season has come to an end.

More from the East:

• Also from Garrioch’s interview with Dorion, the GM wouldn’t commit to whether or not he plans to keep pending UFA goaltender Anton Forsberg past the trade deadline. The Senators have received interest in the 29-year-old but Dorion floated out the possibility that Ottawa keeps him past the deadline as a way to ensure that prospect Filip Gustavsson receives as much playing time as possible down the stretch with AHL Belleville to help prepare him to potentially serve as Ottawa’s backup goaltender next season.
• Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury sustained more than a month ago, GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers (Twitter link). The team hopes to know more about his timeline for a return in about a week.  The 22-year-old has impressed in four appearances with Columbus this season with a .937 SV% and is the contender to be the full-time backup in 2022-23 so a chance to get in some more NHL work down the stretch would be ideal.