The Bruins and Avalanche have swapped depth players as Colorado has traded forward Shane Bowers to Boston in exchange for goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Both teams have announced the move and have confirmed that the players have been sent down to their respective minor league clubs.
Bowers made his NHL debut this season but it was a short-lived one as he was injured in the first period. The 2017 first-round pick has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, picking up 14 points in 37 games with AHL Colorado. Bowers is on a one-year, two-way contract that pays $750K in the NHL and just $100K in the minors and he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer. The subtraction of Kinkaid partially clears up a logjam between the pipes with AHL Providence who are now down to two goalies on the roster plus Michael DiPietro playing at the ECHL level.
As for Kinkaid, the 33-year-old is a veteran of 168 career NHL appearances over parts of 10 seasons. However, he has just 11 of those over the past three years as he has settled in as a veteran third-stringer. He has a 3.10 GAA with a .909 SV% in 20 games at the AHL level so far and will give the Avs some extra insurance between the pipes with Pavel Francouz currently out with a lower-body injury. He’s also on a one-year, two-way deal worth the minimum in the NHL although his AHL pay is considerably higher at $450K. Kinkaid will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
let me get this straight. going one way is a 23 year old former first round pick who hasn’t been able to fully show his potential due to injury, and going the other way is a 32 year old goalie who has only played in one game so far this year? what am I missing
Don Sweeney, pretty good at trading
He’s a B.U. Terrier alum. Sween dog loves to sniff out these guys!! Sweeney a Harvard guy but he’s got a thing for locals.
You’re missing that this isn’t a Bruins-Avalanche trade so much as a Providence-Loveland one. Kinkaid’s been the third string goalie in Providence, the Avs need some goaltending insurance, so Sweeney moved a player they’re not using for a poker chip.