The Colorado Avalanche haven’t necessarily made some high-profile trades ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline, but they continue to make some under-the-radar moves. On Saturday, they shipped Shane Bowers off to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Keith Kinkaid.
Bowers was a first-round pick in 2017 by the Ottawa Senators. He was acquired by the Avalanche in the same trade that shipped Matt Duchene to Canada. Unfortunately, he has never really worked out, especially as a former first-round draft choice.
The #Avs have traded Shane Bowers to the Bruins for Keith Kinkaid, a goalie who has played 168 NHL games in his career.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 25, 2023
Kinkaid was an undrafted pickup by the New Jersey Devils back in 2012. He started one game his rookie year, and had 31 saves off of 30 shots against the Buffalo Sabres.
For his career, he has started 146 of the 168 games he has appeared in. Kinkaid has a record of 70-58. He also has a goals-against average of 2.91.
The Avalanche are trying to squeeze into the 2022-23 playoffs and are being proactive in their hunt. They are looking for some more juice in the net especially in the event that their goaltender situation becomes a problem (injuries, bad play, etc). We got to see Justus Annunen in net for the Avalanche because of rest as well as an injury. Annunen did win that game but it’s possible the Avalanche don’t feel he’s ready to take on the bigger role.
Kinkaid will be going to the Colorado Eagles upon his arrival to the city. With Pavel Francouz banged up, we could possibly see Kinkaid in the lineup relatively soon.
One Boston Bruins podcast host believes that this trade was very good for Boston, siting Kinkaid’s age as well as the addition of a young player that could see better days in a new city.
#NHLBruins swap 33 year old Keith Kinkaid for 23 year old Shane Bowers…Don Sweeney just added young developing talent while giving up an aging vet. A+ trade. Donny does it again! pic.twitter.com/ayrFmMa8TS
— Michael Sullivan (@_MikeSullivan) February 25, 2023
Hopefully Kinkaid can help the Colorado Avalanche continue on an upward trajectory on their way to squeezing into the playoffs. They currently sit fourth in the Western conference central division but are only three points from first place. It’s a really tight race in the division.
The plan might be clear at this point: Make trades that are good for this year, and not necessarily splashy.