St. Louis born Adam Lowry will start his sixth NHL season this September. He has firmly established himself as a defensively responsible third line centre, who often is called upon to play against an opponent’s top line, and to take critical face offs. Yet, he is a somewhat divisive player to Jets fans.
Some point to his lack of offensive output. In an injury shortened season in 2017-18 Lowry teased the fan base with a points per game production of .47. In 2018-19 he reverted back closer to his career average with a points per game production of .29, with a total of 23 points in 78 games.
With the abundance of young offensively talented forwards pushing for more prominent roles on the big club, many fans see Lowry as a barrier calling for a more “offensive” third line. I understand that sentiment, but, I also understand why Paul Maurice trusts Lowry so much in critical situations. Lowry can skate, play physical, win face offs and play well with multiple line mates. Given the roster changes pending, I’d suggest that Lowry may get the opportunity to play with more offensively minded forwards next season.
Lowry has a cap friendly contract of approximately $3 million per season for the next two seasons which is going to keep looking better as we enter the next phase of crazy money contracts in the NHL. This is a totally non analytics supported perspective, but, I’d argue that championship teams need an Adam Lowry on the roster. I really like having him on the roster. My thoughts are on Lowry are summarized best by The Stranger from the Big Lebowski – “I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there.”
