Late last night, the Colorado Avalanche re-signed restricted free agent Shane Bowers to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $750K at the NHL level, and $100K in the minor leagues, according to PuckPedia.
This is something of a show-me season for the young forward, who was selected in the first round five years ago and has still yet to make a real impact at the professional level. While not reaching the NHL by now might not be the end of the world, Bowers hasn’t even been very productive at the AHL level, scoring just 13 goals and 18 points over the last two seasons combined.
Still, there is at least some hope that with a few tweaks he can become at least a regular bottom-six contributor, because of his strong skating ability and NHL size. He’ll likely get that chance at training camp this season as he is now eligible for waivers, meaning if the Avalanche want to send him to the Colorado Eagles again, he’ll be available for any other team in the league.
Waiver status often forces a player into the NHL, but it doesn’t often keep them there. Bowers will have to show that he can bring something to the table every night, or even a claiming team will soon be sending him back to the AHL. Still a restricted free agent at the end of this season, his chances are running out.