Lowry named Jets captain, replaces Wheeler

Adam Lowry was named captain of the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old forward was selected by the Jets in the third round (No. 67) of the 2011 NHL Draft and has played his entire nine-season NHL career with Winnipeg.

“It’s extremely special to get the opportunity to lead an NHL franchise, and a Canadian market for that matter,” Lowry said. “It’s a huge honor to know that management, coaching staff and your teammates have the belief in you that you are the right guy and you’re going to be the guy to steady the ship when things don’t necessarily go our way, or when we hit some difficult patches throughout the season. I am really looking forward to taking on that challenge.”

Lowry replaces Blake Wheeler, who was removed as captain Sept. 16, 2022, and signed with the New York Rangers after having his contract bought out this offseason. The Jets opted for three alternate captains last season; Lowry, forward Mark Scheifele and defenseman Josh Morrissey. Coach Rick Bowness said Scheifele and Morrissey will remain alternate captains.

“When we took the [captaincy] away from Blake, we wanted to open up the room,” Bowness said. “So, we achieved that. Mark, ‘Mo’ and ‘Low’ did a great job last year taking over the room, and the communication within the room, which we were trying to achieve, it worked. So there were a couple of really good candidates. And sometimes there’s no wrong answer. So this is the right choice for us right now. And was it a difficult decision? Absolutely. It wasn’t one where we said at the end of the year, ‘OK, Adam’s our captain.’ That wasn’t the case at all. We had a lot of conversations over the summer with the staff, with management and everyone involved. So, ultimately we came to this conclusion.”

Morrissey, a teammate of Lowry’s in the American Hockey League before playing the last eight seasons together in Winnipeg, said he was excited for Lowry to have the role.

“He’s a great leader, I’ve played with him my whole career,” Morrissey said. “I think the main theme with him is that he’s a great person, he’s a great guy, he comes to work every day. He’s such a professional. He’s an unselfish guy and commands a lot of respect. He’s certainly willing to stand up for his teammates and just everything he does you respect as a teammate, and I think as an opponent as well, and he’s going to do a great job.”

Bowness said Lowry’s leadership ability is reminiscent of players he’s coached previously.

“I had Ray (Bourque) in Boston,” Bowness said. “Ray was very quiet. Didn’t say a whole lot. But man when the game was on the line and the complexion of the game had to change, Ray went out and did that. We had (Roberto) Luongo in Vancouver for a while, and we had [Henrik Sedin] take over there. Adam’s different than all those guys because Adam is more of a physical presence out there. His role is different. He’s not the top-line center. But regardless of his minutes and role, he’s dominant in what he brings to the table in terms of a competitor and sticking up for his teammates. So, those other guys were all the best players on the team. Adam, you wouldn’t put him in that category. But his importance to the team is at that level of your best players.”

Lowry had an NHL career-high 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 82 regular-season games and five points (four goals, one assist) in five Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. He has 204 points (93 goals, 111 assists) in 621 regular-season games, sixth in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history.

“I’ve had the fortune of watching Adam play since we drafted him in 2011,” general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. “He was our second pick in that year. I’ve seen him grow and I’ve seen him play at many different levels, both in junior and at the American (Hockey) League level. I saw the level of leadership and what he provided at both of those levels. You could tell at that point in time that he had some special qualities.

“He’s a guy that’s earned his right to be in the National Hockey League. He’d be the first to tell you he’s not the most skilled, he’s not going to break the bank on the point side of it, but what he brings to a team, what he brings to a locker room, what he brings to a franchise, and what he brings to a city, those are all the things that you want. He leads by example and he drags people along with him when he plays and how he plays.”

Lowry said he’s learned from the captains he’s played with in Winnipeg, Wheeler and Andrew Ladd, and believes the important thing is staying true to the player he’s always been.

“I think the big thing is, as cliché as it sounds, is don’t change who you are just because the letter on your jersey changes,” he said. “I think part of what makes me a successful hockey player is playing hard, is competing, is trying to drag my teammates into the fight and sticking up for them and standing up for them on the ice and in the room. … I think just trying to find ways to impact the game, trying to find ways to kind of influence the game in a positive manner is the way I’m going to continue to try and play. Stand up for my teammates and make them play a little bigger.”

Lowry also can rely on his father, Dave Lowry, who was captain of the Calgary Flames from 2000-02.

“I think at that age I was just happy to be hanging around the rink, being in the locker room, going on the ice at practice and things like that,” said Lowry, who was 7 when his father was named Flames captain. “Now, being older, being able to talk to him, he’s a great sounding board. I know he’s with a different organization (Seattle Kraken assistant coach), but he certainly has some great advice for me. He’ll be someone I’ll certainly lean on and try to soak up as much of his wisdom as I can in dealing with the positives, the negatives that go along with the added responsibility and things like that. It certainly helps to know that he’s been through it in a Canadian market as well, just the ups and downs that go with it.”

Eight NHL teams are without a captain: the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken and St. Louis Blues.

The Vancouver Canucks named defenseman Quinn Hughes captain Monday.

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest and independent correspondent Darrin Bauming contributed to this report

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