Devils Recall Shane Bowers
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.
Winnipeg Jets Reassign Colby Barlow To AHL
After being eliminated by the Saginaw Spirit in the First Round of the 2024 OHL playoffs, the Owen Sound Attack will be losing one of their best players over the last three seasons. Earlier, the Winnipeg Jets announced they have reassigned forward Colby Barlow to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, ending his career in the OHL.
Barlow originally came to the Jets organization by way of the 2023 NHL Draft, as the team selected him with the 18th overall pick in the first round. Shortly before the beginning of the 2023-24 NHL season, Barlow signed a three-year, $3.6MM entry-level contract in Winnipeg, with the contract likely starting next season.
Over three years in Owen Sound, Barlow played in a total of 168 games, scoring 116 goals and 184 points while also chipping in nine goals and 12 points in 15 total postseason contests. As advertised, Barlow has a tremendous ability to put the puck on the net from nearly any angle of the offensive zone.
With only six games remaining in the regular season for the Moose, they will need to win between three and four of those contests to qualify for the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs. Since the team is still effectively in the playoff hunt, it will allow Barlow to play in meaningful games to end his season.
Dallas Stars Send Down Mavrik Bourque
After two days spent with the Dallas Stars, forward Mavrik Bourque will be headed back down to AHL Texas according to a team announcement. Since Bourque was originally recalled to replace the minutes of forward Tyler Seguin, it appears that Seguin will re-enter the lineup tonight for Dallas against the Colorado Avalanche.
Luckily, Bourque made his NHL debut on Saturday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring zero points in almost 11 minutes of ice time. Playing on a line with Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven, the trio generated a decent amount of offense but ultimately lost the contest to their Central Division foe.
Now returning to the Texas Stars of the AHL, Bourque will be able to help the team that he has spent much of the year with clinch a playoff spot. However, it will not come easy to the team as they line up against the Milwaukee Admirals, who are currently leading the AHL Central Division.
Outside of tonight’s contest, AHL Texas will still have four games remaining to clinch a position in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs and will rely heavily on Bourque’s offensive prowess. Over 66 games this season at the AHL level, Bourque has scored 26 goals and 72 points, sitting atop the league in scoring. After such an impressive season, Bourque has put himself in a position to win both the Les Cunningham Award and the John B. Sollenberger Trophy at seasons end.
Atlantic Notes: Maroon, Olson, Fleury, Senators
The Bruins are hoping to have trade deadline pickup Pat Maroon make his Boston debut a week from today against the Penguins, head coach Jim Montgomery said (via Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe). Maroon hasn’t played in over two months, last suiting up on Jan. 27. He’s been out since with a back injury, missing over six weeks for the Wild before they dealt him to Boston at the deadline for a sixth-round pick and a minor league player. It was the fifth time the well-traveled Cup winner has been traded in his career, only changing teams in free agency twice. Prior to exiting the lineup, Maroon had four goals and 16 points in 49 games while averaging 12:46 a night, his highest usage since winning the Cup with the Blues in a top-nine role in 2019. The Bruins will look to him to add veteran experience and penalty minutes to a fourth line that’s mainly revolved around rookies and call-ups.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Bruins forward prospect Quinn Olson has signed outside the organization, landing with AHL Ontario for the rest of the season, per Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal. Boston will lose their exclusive signing rights to Olson if they can’t agree to an entry-level contract by Aug. 15. 23 next month, Olson just wrapped up a five-year stint at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he served as an alternate captain in his senior and graduate seasons and totaled 27 goals and 96 points across 175 games. Not being offered a tryout by Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence is a strong indication that the 2019 third-round pick will reach unrestricted free agency in August.
- Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury left today’s loss to the Penguins and didn’t return after a freak neutral-zone collision with referee Steve Kozari, as relayed by Bally Sports’ Gabby Shirley. Kozari was briefly unconscious after the collision and required a stretcher off the ice, although the league confirmed in a statement that he has full use of his extremities and is expected to make a full recovery. Fleury was able to skate off the ice, but the severity of the hit will require further evaluation. The depth blue-liner has five points and a +5 rating in 23 showings this season, his second in a Lightning uniform.
- The Senators have parted ways with professional scouts Jim Clark and Rob Murphy, GM Steve Staios announced. This could end an illustrious front-office career for the 70-year-old Clark, who’s held roles with the Red Wings, Blue Jackets and Panthers as well since breaking into the league in 1990. He was brought on by the Sens in 2008 after being let go as Columbus’ assistant GM, serving on their scouting staff for six years before being promoted to their Director of Professional Scouting in 2014. Ottawa demoted Clark out of the head scout role ahead of this season, replacing him with Murphy, who’d been a pro scout for the organization since 2018. This was Murphy’s second run with the Sens, also serving in their pro scouting department from 2010 to 2014 before leaving for a Director of Scouting role with the Sabres.
Hurricanes Sign Gleb Trikozov To Entry-Level Contract
The Hurricanes have signed forward prospect Gleb Trikozov to his three-year, entry-level contract, according to Trikozov’s agent, Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. In a press release Saturday, the team confirmed that his contract begins in the 2024-25 season and carries an $862.5K cap hit, broken down into a $775K base salary and $87.5K signing bonus each season. Trikozov will earn a $82.5K salary when assigned to the minors or overseas.
Carolina selected Trikozov, 19, with their first selection in the 2022 draft, coming late in the second round at 60th overall. They parted with their first-round pick as compensation for signing then-RFA center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet in September 2021, although it later changed hands multiple times and eventually ended up with the Sharks. San Jose used it on Swedish pivot Filip Bystedt, who recently made his North American debut for their AHL affiliate.
The 6’1″ Russian winger spent time with three different clubs in the Avangard Omsk system in his home country this season but closed out the season on assignment to the MHL, Russia’s top junior league. He was electric in regular season play throughout the year, scoring 12 goals in 10 games while totaling 18 points. He also added nine points in seven playoff games as Omskie Yastreby was eliminated last month.
He only appeared in two games in the top-level KHL, spending most of the year on assignment to the VHL, the top minor professional circuit. There, with Omskie Krylia, he was the team’s leading per-game scorer, notching 11 goals and 21 points in 39 games on a team that was nowhere near playoff contention.
Trikozov remains a high-ceiling yet unpolished prospect and could stand to get more comfortable in puck battles and improve his defensive awareness, although that’s the case with most mid-tier prospects his age. Those concerns led to some rather polarizing rankings in his draft year, as multiple public scouting sites believed Trikozov’s raw shooting ability made him worthy of a late first-round selection.
The Hurricanes still don’t have a full-time AHL affiliate on the books for next season, a situation that’s proven challenging for prospect development in 2023-24. The lack of consistent playing time and organizational ethos has completely derailed the development of some, such as 2019 second-round pick Jamieson Rees, who had just four assists in 37 AHL games split between Charlotte and Springfield before Carolina cut ties and traded him to the Senators a few weeks ago.
Nonetheless, GM Don Waddell said in a statement that the organization is “excited to see how [Trikozov’s] game continues to develop in North America,” implying they won’t be loaning him back to Russia next season. He’s not ready for NHL action, though, so they’ll need to find him a minor-league home if their affiliate situation isn’t rectified.
Trikozov will be 20 before Sep. 15, making him ineligible for an entry-level slide. His deal will take effect next season regardless of how many NHL games he plays, and upon expiry in 2027, he will be an RFA.
Kraken Assign Cale Fleury To AHL
Saturday: Fleury has been returned to AHL Coachella Valley, per a team announcement.
Friday: The Seattle Kraken have recalled defenseman Cale Fleury on an emergency loan (Twitter link). It’s Fleury’s third call up of April, with each prior recall being followed by an assignment on the subsequent day. The ring of trips to-and-from the minors has held Fleury to just one game since March 28th – an April 4th win in the AHL where Fleury recorded one assist.
Despite six recalls this season, Fleury has yet to play in the NHL this year. He’s instead spent all 61 games of his season with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, recording six goals, 33 points, 20 penalty minutes, and a +27. The scoring matches Fleury’s total from last season, though he played in three fewer games.
Fleury is now in his sixth professional season, making his debut with the Laval Rocket in the 2018-19 season, after Montreal selected him in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He was Seattle’s selection from Montreal in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, re-signing with the team in each of the last three summers. The two-year deal he signed this summer was his first multi-year contract since signing his entry-level contract in 2018.
Fleury will be competing with healthy scratch Justin Schultz and rookie Ryker Evans for Seattle’s final lineup spot. Evans has just eight points through 29 games this season, while Schultz has managed 22 in 63 games. And while Fleury likely sits outside of a lineup spot, the Kraken have just seven games left in their season and sit 16 points behind the Western Conference’s second Wild Card – setting up the perfect time for the team to test out young or inexperienced players like Fleury.
Capitals Assign Hunter Shepard And Matthew Phillips To AHL
The roster shuffling in Washington continues. After recalling both players on an emergency basis in recent days, the team announced that goaltender Hunter Shepard and winger Matthew Phillips have been returned to AHL Hershey.
Shepard was brought up on Thursday following Darcy Kuemper being banged up in practice the day before. However, the veteran was between the pipes on Friday against Carolina, meaning emergency conditions no longer existed so Shepard needed to go back down or be converted to a standard recall.
The 28-year-old made his NHL debut this season, getting into four games with the Capitals, posting a 3.19 GAA and a .894 SV%. Shepard has spent most of the year with Hershey and has done quite well, putting up a 25-3-3 record with a 1.80 GAA and a .927 SV% in 31 games, leading the league in GAA and SV%.
As for Phillips, he was brought up on an emergency basis on Friday but didn’t play which meant emergency conditions no longer existed for him as well. The 26-year-old is in his first season with Washington and has a goal and four assists in 31 games with the Caps. He also has three points in five games with Hershey. He’s set to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent for the second straight summer and might be hard-pressed to secure another one-way contract after getting one from the Capitals back in July.
Wild Recall Jesper Wallstedt
It appears the availability of one of Minnesota’s netminders is in question for this afternoon as, according to the AHL’s transactions log, the Wild have recalled goaltender Jesper Wallstedt from AHL Iowa. In a corresponding move, Iowa signed netminder Peyton Jones to a tryout agreement to replace Wallstedt on their roster.
The 21-year-old is widely considered as one of the stronger goalie prospects league-wide although his NHL debut back in January didn’t go too well as he allowed seven goals on 34 shots in a loss to Dallas. However, Wallstedt has fared well in the minors, posting a 2.76 GAA and a .908 SV% in 43 starts at that level this season. He has one year left after this one on his entry-level deal, one that carries an AAV of $925K.
Assuming that one of Marc-Andre Fleury or Filip Gustavsson is unavailable against Winnipeg, Wallstedt’s recall can be classified as an emergency promotion and thus not count against Minnesota’s four recall limit. However, Wallstedt would have to be returned to the minors as soon as the emergency conditions end.
Several College Free Agents Sign AHL Contracts
Somewhat surprisingly, there haven’t been many college free agents that have been able to land NHL contracts that begin right away. That has resulted in some of the more notable remaining free agents ultimately settling for AHL deals. Here’s a rundown of those moves.
- Defenseman Dylan Anhorn inked an ATO agreement along with a one-year contract for next season with AHL Manitoba, per a team release. The 25-year-old was linked to Winnipeg earlier this week and they’ll be able to get him on their affiliate without committing an entry-level contract to him. Anhorn was quite impactful for St. Cloud State this season, notching six goals and 27 assists in 38 games to finish second on the team in scoring.
- Winger Riese Gaber has signed with AHL Charlotte through the 2025-26 season, the team announced. The 24-year-old is believed to have had some NHL interest in free agency a couple of years ago after a strong sophomore year with the University of North Dakota but he decided to stay in school. Gaber’s offensive numbers never really dropped – he had 34 points in 40 games this season – but the fact they leveled off coupled with his 5’8 stature likely hindered him on the open market this time around.
- Goaltender Blake Pietila has signed an ATO with AHL Cleveland, per a team release. The 24-year-old has been one of the more consistent goalies in the NCAA in recent years and posted a 2.12 GAA and a .921 SV% in 141 appearances across five seasons at Michigan Tech. However, given his size (6’0), it seemed unlikely that he’d be able to get an entry-level deal right away considering the emphasis many NHL teams place on size for their netminders.
- Defenseman Garrett Pyke has inked an ATO for the rest of this season plus a one-year deal with AHL Colorado, the team announced. The 24-year-old spent this past season at the University of North Dakota, setting new personal benchmarks in assists (22) and points (25).
Canadiens Recall Justin Barron, Announce Injury Updates
The Canadiens will be without a pair of defensemen for their game tonight against Toronto. The team announced (Twitter link) that Kaiden Guhle is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury while Arber Xhekaj is also out with an upper-body injury; he is undergoing further evaluation to determine how long he might be out. In a corresponding move, blueliner Justin Barron was recalled from AHL Laval on an emergency basis which means he won’t count against their post-deadline four-recall limit.
Guhle, who was injured early in Thursday’s game against Tampa Bay, is once again playing a big role on Montreal’s back end this season. Through 70 games, he has six goals and 16 assists along with 178 blocked shots and 141 hits. The 22-year-old sophomore leads the Canadiens in blocks and sits second among their blueliners in ATOI, logging a little under 21 minutes a night.
As for Xhekaj, he broke camp with the Canadiens but was sent to Laval for seven weeks midseason before being recalled in late January where he has been a regular in the lineup since then. The 23-year-old has three goals and seven assists along with 125 hits and a team-high 81 penalty minutes in 44 games with Montreal in just under 16 minutes a night while he added 11 points in 17 contests with the Rocket.
Barron, meanwhile, has split the season between the NHL and AHL. He has played in 41 games with Montreal (a career-high) and has a dozen points to his credit while averaging a little less than 19 minutes per contest. However, the 22-year-old has spent most of the second half of the year in the minors and hasn’t been as impactful as expected although he still has 11 points in 30 AHL contests.