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Shane Bowers

Devils Recall Mike Hardman, Nathan Legare; Assign Shane Bowers

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The New Jersey Devils have recalled forwards Mike Hardman and Nathan Legare, and assigned forward Shane Bowers. Bowers will head back to the minors after a week on the NHL roster. He stepped into three games on this call-up, recording no socring, a -2, and two penalty minutes while averaging a little over eight minutes of ice time.

New Jersey will swap out the unproductive Bowers with veteran minor-leaguers Hardman and Legare. Only the former has played in the NHL, stepping into 37 games with the Chicago Blackhawks between 2020 and 2023. He scored three points in his first eight career games, but only added two assists in the proceeding 29. Hardman has also amassed 174 games across four seasons in the AHL. He started his career there with similar productivity – netting 32 points in his first 43 games – but he’s only added 63 points in 131 games since. Legare has been even less productive, with just three points, all goals, in 18 games this season. He’s managed just 50 points in four seasons and 197 career games in the AHL.

Hardman seems to be the more likely of the two to step into the lineup, receiving a well-timed call-up after winning the AHL’s ’Player of the Week’ award with seven points in a three-game span.

Hardman’s call-up comes at a good time, just days after he won the AHL’s ’Player of the Week’ award with seven points in a three-game span last week. His NHL precedent likely makes him New Jersey’s next-man-up, though both call-ups could line up with New Jersey bearing with injuries to Curtis Lazar, Nathan Bastian, and Tomas Tatar.

Minor Transactions: 11/25/24

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There have been quite a few paper transactions made across the NHL today as teams continue to try to save every little bit of cap room they can.  Here’s a rundown of today’s moves, per the AHL’s transactions log.

  • The Oilers have reassigned defenseman Josh Brown and forward Drake Caggiula to AHL Bakersfield. Brown has been shuffled back and forth in recent days while Caggiula was recalled back on Thursday.  Edmonton is off until Friday and the moves allow them to dip out of using LTIR and bank a small amount of cap space for the next few days.  At least one of them, if not both, will likely be recalled later in the week.
  • A day after being papered down, the Bruins have recalled forward Marc McLaughlin and defenseman Jordan Oesterle from AHL Providence. McLaughlin hasn’t played for Boston yet this season while Oesterle suited up three times earlier this month.
  • The Hurricanes have recalled winger Jackson Blake and goaltender Spencer Martin from their latest paper loan to AHL Chicago. Both players have been shuffled back and forth routinely in cap-saving moves.
  • A day after the Devils loaned wingers Shane Bowers and Nolan Foote along with defenseman Nick DeSimone to AHL Utica, the trio was recalled today. Sunday’s demotions allowed them to clear LTIR for the day but they are back to using it for the time being now.
  • After being papered down on Sunday, the Golden Knights have recalled wingers Mason Morelli and Callahan Burke, who scored his first NHL goal on Saturday in a win over Montreal. They also brought back blueliner Robert Hagg who was both recalled (on an emergency basis) and sent down on Saturday.  Hagg’s recall moves Vegas back into using LTIR for now.

New Jersey Announces Several Roster Moves

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Before their game in a few days against the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, the New Jersey Devils are adding more pieces to their roster. The organization announced they have placed Nathan Bastian on long-term injured reserve retroactive to November 1st, Curtis Lazar on injured reserve retroactive to October 27th, and has recalled Shane Bowers, Justin Dowling, Nolan Foote, and Nick DeSimone from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

None of the moves are shocking from the cap-conscious Devils who’ve been slowplaying Bastian and Lazar’s designation to capture more salary cap space for the trade deadline. With a projected deadline space of almost $10MM, New Jersey could place both players on their respective injury reserve designations and fill out the rest of the roster.

Bastian has the less serious injury of the two after sustaining a jaw injury during a fight with Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg. He was originally expected to miss several weeks with the injury and if he’s fully recovered, can return on November 26th when the Devils take on the St. Louis Blues. The more serious injury concern lies in Lazar who may finish the year with only 12 games played after undergoing a procedure on his left knee keeping him out indefinitely.

Dowling is the only member of the call-up quartet that has already suited up for New Jersey this season. He was originally recalled to replace the lost minutes of Lazar and has tallied one assist in nine games while averaging 8:13 of ice time.

Foote was an obvious choice for a call-up as the former 27th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s already accrued 23 games of NHL experience in his young career and was leading the AHL Comets in scoring this season with four goals and nine points in 12 games.

The other two recalls are largely AHL-bound veterans at this point in their respective careers although Bowers may carry some prospect pedigree as a first-round pick of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s seen his scoring drop precipitously since transitioning to professional hockey in the 2018-19 season scoring a career-high 27 points for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2019-20. DeSimone, who reached a one-year extension with the Devils last season, has already been recalled this season but failed to register any games.

The downstream effects of the roster moves will be greatly felt in the AHL. The Comets have yet to earn a victory this season through 13 games and may have to play this weekend’s contests against the Syracuse Crunch and Rochester Americans without three of their top-10 scorers.

Waiver Wire: 10/6/24

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Today is the major day for the waiver wire as most teams in the NHL are preparing the 23-man rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that all players on waivers from yesterday have cleared. The following list is each player placed on waivers this afternoon as reported by PuckPedia.

Boston Bruins

F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel

Buffalo Sabres

D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek

Calgary Flames

G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt

Carolina Hurricanes

F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki

Chicago Blackhawks 

D Isaak Phillips

Detroit Red Wings

F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively

Edmonton Oilers

D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue

Los Angeles Kings

G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka

Nashville Predators

D Marc Del Gaizo

New Jersey Devils

F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White

New York Islanders

D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek

New York Rangers

D Matthew Robertson

Ottawa Senators

F Adam Gaudette
F Jan Jenik

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama

St. Louis Blues

D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai

Utah Hockey Club

G Matt Villalta

Vancouver Canucks

D Erik Brannstrom

Vegas Golden Knights

F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg

Washington Capitals

G Hunter Shepard

Winnipeg Jets

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Devils Extend Shane Bowers, Sign Ryan Schmelzer

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The Devils announced that they’ve re-signed forward Shane Bowers to a two-year, two-way contract. The deal carries a cap hit and a base salary of $775K each season. He’ll earn a $200K minors salary in 2024-25 and a $225K minors salary in 2025-26 with a $250K guarantee. New Jersey also inked free-agent forward Ryan Schmelzer to a two-year, two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $275K in the AHL in both seasons.

Bowers, 24, had his signing rights picked up by the Devils in a minor-league trade with the Bruins last June and promptly inked a one-year, two-way extension ($775K/$125K) to cover the 2023-24 campaign. The 2017 first-round pick cleared waivers at the end of training camp but received two brief call-ups during the season, one in January and one in April, totaling just over two weeks. He averaged just 9:27 in eight games with New Jersey, failing to record a point and going 7 for 22 on faceoffs with a +1 rating and seven shots. In 43 games with AHL Utica this year, he was limited to 10 goals, four assists and 14 points in 43 games with a -12 rating.

Despite being with his fourth organization since being drafted by the Senators seven years ago, this was Bowers’ first real look in the NHL. He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche last season but was injured after logging just 1:46 of ice time. The Nova Scotian is firmly organizational depth at this point of his career, and unless he works his way into Utica’s top six next season and has a major offensive resurgence, he’s close to peaking as an AHL fixture.

Schmelzer, 30, lands his first NHL contract, but he’s no stranger to the Devils. He’s spent the last six seasons on minor-league contracts with their AHL affiliates in Binghamton and Utica and has served as their captain for the last three seasons. 2023-24 marked a career year for the Canisius College product, leading the club in points with 52 (18 goals, 34 assists) while playing in all 72 games with a team-high +14 rating. Now, with a contract in New Jersey in hand, the 6’2″ center will be eligible for NHL call-ups next year.

Both contracts will expire following the 2025-26 season, at which point Bowers will still have his signing rights controlled by the Devils as an RFA with arbitration eligibility. Schmelzer will be a UFA.

Metro Notes: Bowers, Clarke, Malenstyn

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The New Jersey Devils announced that they’ve assigned forward Shane Bowers to the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 24-year-old was recalled by the Devils a little over a week ago and went scoreless in five games to finish out the NHL season. The native of Halifax, Nova Scotia appeared in eight games this season, tallying no points, while averaging 9:27 of ice time per game.

A former first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2017 (28th overall), Bowers hasn’t developed into the power forward many thought he could be back when he played for Boston University. He was part of the package that Ottawa traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Matt Duchene but has never been able to find his scoring touch at the AHL level and has bounced around to two more organizations since then. With Utica this season, Bowers has just nine goals and four assists in 40 games and is -11.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Devils also assigned forward Graeme Clarke to Utica of the AHL. Clarke appeared in two games during his most recent recall and three NHL games this season. He has yet to register an NHL point, but the 22-year-old has been a solid AHL scoring option in his four-year professional career. The Ottawa, Ontario native has posted 24 goals and 23 assists in 64 AHL games this season and 147 points in 215 career games at the AHL level.
  • Washington Capitals writer Stephen Whyno is reporting that Capitals forward Beck Malenstyn left last night’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old was skating through the neutral zone with the puck when he sent a pass and was hit late by Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic. Malenstyn remained on the ice briefly before getting back to his feet and skating to the bench. He immediately walked to the dressing room while receiving assistance from the medical staff. No word yet on the severity of the injury. Malenstyn has dressed in 80 games this season, posting six goals and 15 assists while dishing out 237 hits.

Devils Recall Shane Bowers

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The Devils recalled forward Shane Bowers from AHL Utica on Sunday, per a team announcement.

Bowers, 24, gets his second major league call of the season one week after erupting for four points in a game against Springfield. He factored in on every goal Utica scored as they try to make a late push for a playoff spot in the North Division.

It’s otherwise been a season to forget for the 2017 first-round pick, whose hopes for a long-term future in the NHL are quickly dwindling. He’s made 40 appearances with the Comets but has put up bottom-six numbers with nine goals, 13 points and a -11 rating.

New Jersey is his fourth NHL organization, having seen his rights traded three times after being picked up by the Senators in the draft. The Devils acquired his signing rights from the Bruins in late June 2023 in exchange for the signing rights to minor league defenseman Reilly Walsh.

Bowers was a non-factor in a three-game call-up to New Jersey in January, going without a point while averaging 6:26 per game. He went 4-for-13 in the faceoff dot and had a negative possession impact in advantageous offensive usage, posting a 44.7 CF% and a -0.8 expected rating.

The Canadian center was a solid point producer in college with Boston University, but injuries have derailed his ability to adjust to the pro game after signing with the Avalanche in 2019. His games with the Devils this season were just the second, third and fourth of his NHL career, and his overall AHL production has been underwhelming with 40 goals and 79 points in 214 games over the past six seasons.

Bowers is signed to a two-way deal this season that pays him $775K in the NHL and $125K in the AHL. He’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer but is a strong candidate not to receive a qualifying offer and reach unrestricted free agency for the first time.

Devils Place Jonas Siegenthaler On IR, Recall Two From AHL

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The Devils announced that defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler was placed on injured reserve today, likely retroactive to his last appearance on January 6, with a foot fracture. Forward Shane Bowers and defensemen Cal Foote were recalled from AHL Utica in corresponding moves.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said last weekend that Siegenthaler, 26, would likely miss significant time. As such, he’s expected to remain on IR longer than the minimum seven-day stay. The team’s secondary shutdown defender behind John Marino has six goals, 37 assists, 43 points, and a +15 rating in 196 contests with the Devils since coming over to New Jersey from the Capitals in an April 2021 trade.

Now in the first season of a five-year, $17MM extension signed shortly after he became eligible for one in July 2022, Siegenthaler has spent this season riding shotgun with Dougie Hamilton or Simon Nemec on the Devils’ top pairing. Hamilton has been out since late November with a left pectoral muscle tear and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Nemec has effectively shouldered heavy minutes in his first NHL stint since being selected second overall in the 2022 draft.

Before his injury, Siegenthaler had one goal, seven assists and a -1 rating while averaging 19:54 of ice time through 38 games.

Bowers and Foote come up to alleviate the pains of a Devils roster currently without Hamilton and Siegenthaler on defense and Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Tomáš Nosek, and Ondřej Palát at forward all due to injuries. The two recalls get the Devils to the minimum 18 skaters on the active roster, meaning they’ll both draw in for their season debuts against the Lightning on Thursday.

New Jersey acquired the signing rights for the 24-year-old Bowers, who was originally the Senators’ 28th overall pick in the 2017 draft, from the Bruins in exchange for the rights to minor-league defenseman Reilly Walsh in a June 2023 trade, the third time Bowers has been traded in his young professional career. The Devils promptly inked Bowers to a one-year, two-way deal, which carries a $775K cap hit and sees him earn $125K in the minors this year, where he has six goals and just one assist in 29 games with Utica. The Nova Scotian has one NHL game to his name, taking three shifts as a member of the Avalanche against the Predators in November 2022 before exiting with injury.

Foote was also a first-round pick, selected 14 spots ahead of Bowers by the Lightning in 2017. Dealt to the Predators last season in the Tanner Jeannot trade, he became a UFA last July after not receiving a qualifying offer. The Devils snapped him up in August, joining him in the organization with his brother, Nolan Foote, on a one-year, two-way deal with an $800K cap hit. The 25-year-old didn’t make the team out of camp, but this is not his first recall of the season. He was rostered for eight games in late October and early November, although he was a healthy scratch for all of them. He’s logged nine points and a -14 rating in 24 games with Utica.

Given their pedestrian minor-league performance, Bowers and Foote will likely see limited usage during their time on the NHL roster. Foote’s recall gives the Devils four right-shot defensemen, meaning one of Foote, Marino, Nemec, or Colin Miller will need to shift to their off-side for Thursday’s game and beyond.

Waivers: 10/7/23

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The final day of the preseason is today so pretty soon, teams will be finalizing their season-opening rosters which means there will be plenty of players on waivers this weekend.  Here is today’s group, via TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Boston Bruins

F Jesper Boqvist
F Oskar Steen
D Jakub Zboril

Buffalo Sabres

F Brandon Biro
D Kale Clague
D Riley Stillman

Colorado Avalanche

D Jack Ahcan
D Brad Hunt

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Trey Fix-Wolansky

Edmonton Oilers

D Cam Dineen
D Philip Kemp
F Brad Malone
G Calvin Pickard

Los Angeles Kings

F Tyler Madden

Nashville Predators

F Denis Gurianov
F Jachym Kondelik (unconditional for the purposes of release, per CapFriendly)

New Jersey Devils

F Shane Bowers
F Justin Dowling
F Tyce Thompson
F Maxwell Willman

Seattle Kraken

G Chris Driedger
D Cale Fleury
F John Hayden

As expected at this point in training camp, the majority of these players have some form of NHL experience.

Boston’s trio is certainly intriguing.  Boqvist is coming off a 21-point season (10 goals, 11 assists) with the Devils but was non-tendered this summer due to arbitration eligibility, resulting in him signing a one-year deal for the minimum with the Bruins.  Still just 24, a rebuilding team might be inclined to give him a shot.  Steen played in 20 games with Boston back in 2021-22 and looked like a potential fourth-line center of the future at the time.  He cleared waivers last season but teams looking for depth down in the middle could consider him.  As for Zboril, he was limited to just 22 games last season but has 76 appearances at the top level under his belt.  A first-round pick back in 2015 (13th overall), he has a bit of a higher cap hit ($1.1375MM) which could scare teams off but he could be a fit on the third pairing of some rebuilding squads.

Among the other forwards on the wire today, Gurianov stands out.  He put up 20 goals with Dallas back in 2019-20, following that up with 30 points in just 55 games one year later.  However, he has struggled considerably since then and notched just seven goals between Dallas and Montreal last season.  Still, with an $800K price tag, he’s a player who could be claimed.  Madden was viewed as a quality prospect not long ago but has yet to see NHL action.  However, he’s only 23 and is signed for the minimum this season which makes him a possible claim candidate as well.

On the back end, Fleury was up with Seattle all of last season but was limited to just a dozen games.  He impressed in 2021-22 while playing with AHL Charlotte and as a right-shot defender – the side that many teams covet – he could garner some consideration.  Stillman was acquired from Vancouver last season and played in 50 games between the two teams, albeit in a number six role.  While he has a fair bit of experience (158 games in total), his contract could hurt his chances of being claimed as a $1.35MM price is more than a lot of teams can afford.

In goal, Driedger is the headliner here but at $3.5MM, there’s very little chance he’ll be picked up.  He missed most of last season due to an injury sustained at the 2022 Worlds.  Pickard didn’t see any NHL action last season for the first time since 2013-14.  The 31-year-old put up a 2.70 GAA with a .912 SV% in Bakersfield last season and has 116 NHL games under his belt.  Notably, he’s signed for the minimum which gives him a small chance of being picked up at least.

These players will be on waivers until 1 PM CT on Sunday.  Meanwhile, Sunday will be the last day for teams to place players on waivers and have them clear prior to Monday’s season-opening roster submission so expect plenty of waiver activity tomorrow.

More to follow.

New Jersey Devils Extend Shane Bowers

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The New Jersey Devils have announced a one-year, two-way contract extension with recently acquired forward Shane Bowers. Per the announcement, he’ll have a league-minimum $775k cap hit at the NHL level, as well as a $125k salary at the AHL level.

Bowers, 23, was recently acquired by New Jersey in a one-for-one trade that sent defenseman Reilly Walsh to the Boston Bruins. That was the second time Bowers was traded this year, as he was actually dealt to Boston in a one-for-one mid-season trade that sent Keith Kinkaid to the Colorado Avalanche.

A 2017 first-round pick, Bowers has been traded one additional time in his career, when he was sent to Colorado as part of their return for parting with Matt Duchene. A six-foot-two forward with the versatility to play both center and the wing, Bowers had an underwhelming collegiate career as a Boston University Terrier and never quite found his footing in the AHL with Colorado. His best season game in 2019-20, when he scored 27 points in 48 games, but in the following two years he scored just 18 points combined.

Bowers wasn’t horrible with Boston, scoring seven points in 20 games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins, and he even earned his first NHL game this year with Colorado. But until he shows some more consistency and scoring touch at the AHL level, he won’t be a regular consideration for NHL call-ups, and this contract extension reflects that.

He will get a chance to prove himself with the Utica Comets, though, a team that made the AHL’s playoffs and could have some openings up front if players like Graeme Clarke and Alexander Holtz finally graduate to full-time NHL duty.

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