Rowney, 32, was limited to 19 games with the Anaheim Ducks in 2020-21 due to injury, recording six points (0-6-6) and two penalty minutes. Rowney was coming off his two most productive NHL campaigns prior to last season, totaling 20 points (7-13-20) in 62 games with Anaheim in 2018-19 and nearly matching that the following year with 19 points (8-11-19) in 71 games in 2019-20. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound forward has skated in 223 NHL games since 2016-17 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ducks, totaling 57 points (20-37-57) and 36 penalty minutes. Rowney also won a Stanley Cup championship with the Penguins as a rookie in 2016-17, chipping in seven points (3-4-7) in 27 regular-season games and adding three points (0-3-3) in 20 postseason contests.
The eighth-year pro debuted in the NHL in 2016-17 after spending part of five seasons in the minor leagues. Rowney skated in 191 American Hockey League contests between the Abbotsford Heat and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins between 2012-17, totaling 113 points (47-66-113), a plus-42 rating and 89 penalty minutes and adding 18 points (6-12-18) and 12 penalty minutes in 25 Calder Cup Playoff games. The Grand Prairie, Alberta, native also played parts of two seasons with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers, racking up 51 points (14-37-51), a plus-23 rating and 21 penalty minutes in 44 games. Rowney was originally signed by the Penguins as an undrafted free agent following a four-year career at the University of North Dakota from 2009-13, where he totaled 73 points (32-41-73) and 65 penalty minutes in 150 collegiate games and helped the school win three-straight conference championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Prior to his time at North Dakota, Rowney logged 129 points (58-71-129) and 146 penalty minutes in 157 games with the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Grande Prairie Storm from 2005-09, helping the team win a championship as the playoff's most-valuable player in 2008-09.
