Jared Cowen was once a highly-touted prospect for the Ottawa Senators after the team selected him with the ninth-overall selection in the 2009 NHL Draft. Fast forward to 2015 and Cowen isn't quite an afterthought, but he's also certainly not a piece Senators coaches or fans feel they can count on at this point. Cowen was benched for the Sens' last two games against the New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks after managing a career-low 9:28 of ice time earlier in the week against the Boston Bruins.
With Cowen showing in his sixth NHL season the same kind of inconsistency that has marked his career to this point, coupled with a maddening lack of passion, it seems like the end of the line may be rapidly approaching for the big blueliner in Ottawa.
Dreger: "I think that the #Sens are finally getting to place where they're willing to cut bait here" on Jared Cowen.
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) January 4, 2016
Dreger: I haven't heard from another team that Jared Cowen is on the block or is being shopped, but I think #Sens are willing to listen. — Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) January 4, 2016
Of course, what GM Bryan Murray will potentially be able to recoup for a frustrating and ultimately disappointing guy like Cowen, is anyone's guess.
In six NHL seasons, Cowen has appeared in a full 82-game slate just once. His best statistical season came in 2013-14, when he notched six goals and nine assists in 68 games. This season, he's averaging just 17:03 of ice time and has three assists. Worse, when head coach Dave Cameron replaced him with AHL call-up Fredrik Claesson this week, Cowen seemed to shrug off the move.
"I don't know. First game for him, so it's exciting," Cowen said, per Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun. "I think he had a good time with it. Everyone likes Freddy, so I'm glad to see him go in there and have a good time. That was good for him. Hopefully he keeps doing well, because I think he's been waiting for a game for awhile."
Claesson, as Cameron noted, didn't exactly light the world on fire in his 12:20 of ice time against the Devils, but he played a safe game that allowed them to move Marc Methot to a pairing with Chris Wideman.
As Friedman suggests, there's been no indication that Cowen is set to be dealt, but it's not hard to read between the lines for a player like Cowen, in the penultimate year of his current deal and struggling to make the kind of impact the team once assumed he was destined for.
