page_title: Jared Cowen
section_title: Professional
hierarchical_section_title: Jared Cowen / Playing career / Professional
caption_attribution_description: English: Jared Cowen during pregame warmups of the 2014 Heritage Classic
context_page_description: Jared Nelson Cowen is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. Cowen was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Cowen was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 2016, but never played for the franchise and retired in 2017, after a pre-season tryout with the Colorado Avalanche.
context_section_description: Cowen signed a professional contract with the Senators in March 2010. After Spokane was eliminated from the playoffs, Cowen received a call-up to the Senators. He made his NHL debut with the Senators on April 8, 2010, in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  Compared by some scouts to Zdeno Chara and Derian Hatcher, Cowen was expected to challenge for a roster spot in Ottawa for the 2010–11 season. Cowen made it to the final cuts at the 2010 training camp before being returned to junior.
  Cowen was a member of the Binghamton Senators' 2011 Calder Cup championship team in his first season of professional hockey.
  In 2011–12, Cowen made the Ottawa roster out of training camp and played regularly, being paired with veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar. He scored his first NHL goal on November 1, 2011, against Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. As the season progressed, Cowen emerged as one of Ottawa's top four defencemen.
  During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, the Senators assigned Cowen to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, to give him the opportunity to play at a competitive level. He suffered what was expected to be a season-ending hip injury on October 6, 2012, in a game against the Albany Devils. Cowen underwent surgery on November 17, 2012, in New York to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. By March 27, 2013, Cowen was able to practice with the Senators, and he was finally able to return to the Ottawa lineup on April 16, 2013, much sooner than initial estimate of six-to-eight months. His return to the lineup was a memorable one, as he delivered a clean open-ice hit 13 minutes into the game which caused Carolina Hurricanes star forward Jeff Skinner to leave the game and not return. Cowen later fought both Chad LaRose and Kevin Westgarth. "I think it's the first two-fight game I've had since junior, but I like it," said Cowen of his first game back.
  One day earlier, on April 15, 2013, Cowen was among a small group of Senators' players who had planned on attending the 2013 Boston Marathon. Cowen and the other players had originally intended to be at the marathon's finish line during the time at which bombs exploded, killing and injuring several spectators and runners. Scratches for that night's game against the Boston Bruins, the players changed their plans at the last minute and elected to return to their hotel for a nap instead. "We probably would have been in that exact same spot, within a block or so," said Cowen.
  As Ottawa's 2013 training camp opened, Cowen remained a restricted free agent. On September 14, 2013, the team announced that it had come to an agreement on a four-year contract with the defenceman with an average annual value of $3.1 million.
  In the 2015–16 season, Cowen struggled to solidify himself within the Ottawa lineup, occasionally seeing himself a healthy scratch. On February 9, 2016, Cowen was included in a blockbuster, nine-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cowen, Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Tobias Lindberg and Ottawa's 2017 second-round draft pick were sent to Toronto in exchange for Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey. On February 26, 2016, Cowen was placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs and then assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Cowen was then sent home by Toronto to await a buyout and given the freedom to contact other teams about a new contract for the 2016–17 season; buying-out Cowen's contract would provide the Leafs with a $650,000 salary cap credit for the 2016–17 season.
  At the conclusion of the season, Cowen was placed on waivers with the intention of buying him out of his $3.1 million contract. After clearing waivers, Cowen filed a grievance against the Toronto Maple Leafs, claiming that since he was on the injury reserve, he could not be bought out of his contract. As a player younger than age 26, Cowen would have only been entitled to one-third of his remaining salary if bought out. On December 7, it was announced Cowen's grievance had been dismissed by an arbitrator, and
caption: Cowen in 2014.
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