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Shane Bowers

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.

Boston, New Jersey Complete Minor Trade

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The Boston Bruins announced that they have made their second trade of the day as they have sent forward Shane Bowers to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Reilly Walsh. The news comes on the heels of the Taylor Hall trade that the Bruins completed earlier this afternoon. Boston has a great deal of salary cap maneuvering to complete as they hope to retain much of the core that won the President’s Trophy this season.

The trade sees the swap of a couple of 2017 draft picks who have both played just one game in the NHL in their respective careers. Bowers was a late first-round pick by the Ottawa Senators and was dealt a few months later as part of the ill-fated Matt Duchene three-team trade that also saw Kyle Turris go to Nashville, and Bowers end up with the Colorado Avalanche. Bowers spent five seasons in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles before he was traded to Boston this past February for Keith Kincaid. He’s never been regarded as much of an offensive player as his career high in the AHL came in 2018-19 when he put up 27 points in 48 games. He was always a stretch to be selected in the first round and at 23 years old it appears he will likely be a career minor leaguer barring a turnaround in his play. This past year in 57 games split between the Eagles and Providence Bowers put up just 21 points.

Walsh on the other hand was a third-round selection by the Devils and has spent his entire professional career in their organization. He’s been a very solid offensive defenseman in the AHL putting up 23 goals and 76 assists in 174 career games. Walsh could potentially compete for a spot as the Bruins seventh defender depending on how their salary cap maneuvering plays out, but at this point it looks like an AHL shuffling of the furniture for both teams.

One must wonder what Bruins general manager has in store for his group. With his second trade of the day, it appears that he is setting up for something. Boston has several key free agents to sign and limited cap space to do it. Bowers was going to be eligible for arbitration but it’s unlikely he would have received much of an award given how little he has contributed at the NHL level. Reilly is also an RFA on July 1st so Boston will need to sign him to a new contract.

Bruins Acquire Shane Bowers

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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.

Colorado Avalanche Activate, Reassign Shane Bowers

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The Colorado Avalanche have reassigned forward Shane Bowers after activating him from injured reserve, the team announced Wednesday night.

Bowers’ return comes ahead of schedule after the team gave him a six-week recovery timeline from an upper-body injury on November 12. He sustained the injury after skating just three shifts in his NHL debut two days earlier.

Now 23, the 2017 first-round pick finally seemed to be getting back on track in his development. He’d recorded single-digit point totals in the AHL in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, and his offensive ceiling was stalling quickly.

A strong camp propelled him further up the organizational depth chart. He managed six points through 10 games with the Colorado Eagles before earning a call-up to the injury-ravaged Avalanche. If he maintains that 0.6 points-per-game pace in the minors, he’ll be on track for a career year in the minors and potentially looking at cracking the lineup full-time in 2023-24.

That’s a long way from certain, though, as his professional career has been plagued by inconsistency. The team hopes that his lengthy absence was just a bump in the road and he can get back to building up confidence in the AHL.

Injury Notes: Murray, Bowers, Red Wings, Capitals, Kravtsov

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When the Toronto Maple Leafs elected to overhaul their goaltending group this offseason, the biggest question aside from rebound performances from Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, would be health. Thus far, the team has seemingly received a positive answer when it comes to performance from both goaltenders, but health has been an issue. Murray found himself on LTIR with an abductor injury after just one game and last weekend, Samsonov found himself on IR with a knee injury suffered on a Brad Marchand penalty shot. After the emergency signing of AHL netminder Keith Petruzzelli, the team has relied on Erik Kallgren to shoulder the load while waiting for one of Murray or Samsonov to return.

Earlier today, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe provided a brief update on Murray when he spoke with the media, including The Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan. Per Keefe, Murray is doing well physically and has even been cleared to play. However, Keefe says, Murray is not quite ready to return, with the organization’s performance team waiting to see a few more things before they believe he can return to game action. Although Murray’s return can’t come soon enough for Toronto, assuring the netminder is 100% ready for game action is key. Even if he’s completely healthy, as he appears to be, Murray has been out of game action for a month, a considerable amount of that time spent not receiving the daily work and repetition necessary to be a competitive NHL goaltender. Had Murray been rushed, Toronto might find itself with a healthy Murray, but not the one they need.

  • It’s been a long road for forward Shane Bowers between being a first-round pick in 2017 and his NHL debut on Thursday night, and unfortunately, he’ll have to wait a while longer to play in NHL game number two. The 23-year-old suffered an upper-body injury after just 1:46 of time-on-ice Thursday and is now out long-term. According to Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now, who spoke to Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, Bowers is expected to miss six weeks. The injury is surely a tough break for Bowers both physically and mentally, however after several years of sub-par performance that interrupted his development, he had been off to a strong start in 2022-23, recording six points in ten AHL games. That performance, combined with his once-high prospect status is something the Avalanche will surely keep in mind as he works his way back.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have had themselves an up-and-down start to the season, currently holding a record of 7-4-3. While many had high hopes for the team after a busy offseason, their record through 14 games may be better than it seems given the team’s difficult injury issues early on. In fact, some of those injury woes may be resolving themselves shortly, says Michigan Live’s Answer Kahn. As Kahn writes, rookie forward Elmer Soderblom, who missed Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers, is still considered day-to-day. Defenseman Jake Walman, who had shoulder surgery this offseason, is expected to return to the lineup and make his season debut at some point during Detroit’s four game road trip, which begins tonight in Los Angeles against the Kings and concludes a week from tonight against the Blue Jackets in Columbus. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who suffered a broken hand just two games into the season, is expected to return Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
  • Despite placing him on IR just yesterday, Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov skated at optional practice this morning and will be joining the team on its upcoming road trip, says NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Washington’s road trip begins tomorrow in Tampa Bay against the Lightning and concludes Thursday at the St. Louis Blues. Orlov, who was injured last Saturday, is eligible to come off of IR as soon as tomorrow, as the placement was back-dated to the injury, however it’s unclear what Washington’s plan is exactly. The team had placed Orlov on IR in order to make room for fellow defenseman John Carlson, who the team activated yesterday. Should they wish to activate Orlov, a corresponding roster move would be necessary. Not joining the Capitals on their trip is forward T.J. Oshie, who is on IR dealing with a lower-body injury.
  • New York Rangers forward Vitali Kravtsov will not play tonight when the Rangers take on the Predators in Nashville. The forward is dealing with a stomach bug, reports Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Kravtsov, 22, has just one point in six games so far in his return to North America.

Injury Notes: Teravainen, Grant, Helm, Bowers

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After moving Frederik Andersen to injured reserve earlier today, the Carolina Hurricanes are facing some more injury troubles. Team reporter Walt Ruff reports that forward Teuvo Teravainen will not travel with the team on their upcoming two-day road trip due to an upper-body injury suffered last night in the team’s 7-2 trouncing of the Edmonton Oilers.

While the Hurricanes have been hot, Teravainen has not. The 28-year-old Finn is off to a slow start, having yet to score 14 games into the season. He has logged seven assists, though, which is tied for third on the team. Depth scoring has been a concerning issue for the Hurricanes to start the year (outside of leading point-getter Martin Necas), a trend that will need to quickly reverse in order to account for Teravainen’s absence over at least the next two games. Either Necas or Seth Jarvis could likely get re-elevated to a top-line role in Teravainen’s absence.

  • The Anaheim Ducks announced via a team release Friday that forward Derek Grant has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 3. Grant has missed the team’s past three games with an upper-body injury and is still classified as day-to-day. Given he’s already missed more than the week required by the injured reserve placement, this is purely a paper transaction for roster purposes and he is eligible to return at any time. The corresponding roster transaction was an AHL recall, bringing defenseman Austin Strand up from the San Diego Gulls.
  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told reporters today, including Jesse Montano of DNVR Sports, that forward Darren Helm had another surgery (reported to be a hip abductor muscle procedure) and is “on the mend.” Helm, 35, has yet to play this season after suffering an abdominal injury during last year’s Stanley Cup run. He has now been moved to LTIR, giving the team roughly $500,000 in cap space to work with as injuries pile up.
  • One of the forwards that were serving in a depth role to replace help is also on the injured list. After making his NHL debut last night, 2017 first-round pick Shane Bowers is undergoing an MRI, according to Bednar. Bowers played just 1:46 before leaving the game. After a pair of tough AHL campaigns, Bowers looked like his development may be back on track with six points in 10 games to start the season in AHL Colorado.

West Notes: Oilers, Beaupit, Bowers

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While Evander Kane will be on LTIR for the next several months, don’t expect the Oilers to be active when it comes to trying to replace the power forward.  As Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays in TSN’s latest Insider Trading segment (video link), Edmonton isn’t expected to make a move of significance to add a replacement.  Since Kane is expected to be able to return down the stretch, they’re unlikely to want to take on a sizable contract knowing they’ll have to get back to cap compliance in order to bring Kane back to the active roster.  Short of AHL recalls (of which they’ve already made two), Ken Holland probably won’t be much more active than that when it comes to bringing up a replacement.  They do have one open roster spot still and ample LTIR space so one other recall could come at some point.

More from the West:

  • Sharks goalie prospect Mason Beaupit is on the move at the junior level as WHL Winnipeg announced that they’ve acquired the 19-year-old from Spokane. Beaupit was a fourth-round pick of San Jose (108th overall) this past summer after posing a save percentage of .893 last season in 49 games.  Things haven’t gone as well this year, however, as that dropped to .833 in nine contests with the Chiefs.  The Sharks have until June 1, 2024 to decide whether or not to sign him.
  • The Avalanche officially registered the recall of forward Shane Bowers today, per the AHL’s transactions log, paving the way for him to make his NHL debut tonight. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick (28th overall) back in 2017 and is the final first rounder from that draft class to make an NHL appearance.  Bowers is off to a good start with AHL Colorado with six points in his first ten games this season.

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