Was there something in his game that made it necessary to re-sign him?
Had to fill the AHL roster. As much as we like to think the AHL roster is going to be filled with promising prospects, every team has a few Shane Bowers types.
With the Devils, they didn't draft any centers in 2022 (nor 2023) so there weren't any new players incoming to replace Bowers. Josh Filmon and Dylan Wendt will be AHL rookies next season, but both look to be wingers. 2021 pick Samu Salminen is going back for another year of college (and transferring to DU).
So it was either keep him or sign a similar retread. Not really appealing either way.