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Today, we honor the 34 past and present NHL players celebrating birthdays on April 15. Whether you were a fan of 50-goal scorer Ilya Kovalchuk or loved watching Tim Thomas’ unorthodox saves, here’s a look at some notable players sharing birthdays on this day.
Kevin Lowe (1959)
Kevin Lowe is the only player born on April 15 in the Hockey Hall of Fame . Born in 1959 in Lachute, Quebec, he made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80 and would be a part of five Stanley Cup championships, skating alongside Paul Coffey, Wayne Gretzky, and Mark Messier.
The 1990 King Clancy Award winner moved to the New York Rangers in 1993. With former teammates Messier, Glenn Anderson, and Adam Graves, he won a sixth championship in 1994. Lowe finished his career with the Oilers in 1998, joining the coaching staff upon retirement.
In 2000, Lowe became general manager of the Oilers, eventually becoming President of Hockey Operations, a role he held until 2015. With 431 points in 1,254 games, he entered the Hall of Fame in 2020.
Ilya Kovalchuk (1983)
Kovalchuk was the top pick for the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2001 Entry Draft. He played eight seasons in Georgia, where he won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 2003-04 with 41 goals. In his first 594 games, he collected 328 goals, equalling a .55 goals-per-game pace.
The three-time All-Star collected 876 points with 443 goals in 926 games and was one of his generation’s top snipers. However, many remember Kovalchuk for the contract that he signed with the New Jersey Devils in 2010. Initially, he came to terms on a 17-year deal, which the NHL vetoed, claiming it circumvented the salary cap.
Eventually, the sides agreed on a 15-year agreement valued at $100 million. After retiring from the NHL in 2013, Kovalchuk skated in the Kontinental Hockey League until 2018, returning briefly to the NHL to skate with the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals.
Tim Thomas (1974)
Thomas became an NHL starting goalie at 32 years old, playing 66 games for the Boston Bruins in 2006-07. Within two seasons, he captured the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie twice, in 2009 and 2011. Over three seasons, from 2008 to 2011, Thomas earned an 88-40-24 record with a .930 save percentage (SV%) and 2.18 goals-against average (GAA).
In June 2011, he led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup title in 39 years, compiling one of the greatest statistical postseason runs of all time with a .940 SV% and 1.98 GAA, winning in Game 7 three times, and capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. After Boston failed to defend their championship the following season, he left the club, which led the Bruins to trade him to the New York Islanders in February 2013.
Although Thomas never played for the Bruins again after a Game 7 defeat in April 2012, he also didn’t dress with the New York Islanders, who left him walk in free agency. He wrapped up his nine-season NHL career with the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars in 2013-14, earning a career record of 214-145-49.
Current Players Celebrating Birthdays (Age)
Inactive Players Celebrating Birthdays (Age)
Editors note: bold names are Stanley Cup winners
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TODAY'S BEST
Canucks’ Elias Pettersson drops ‘revenge’ truth bomb after tough season
The Vancouver Canucks missed the postseason in 2024-25 for a myriad of reasons. Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko missed time with injury, they traded JT Miller amid locker room drama, and a key center was dreadful. The Canucks got just 45 points out of center Elias Pettersson in the first year of his massive contract. Pettersson spoke with Peter Ekholm of NHL.com about seeking revenge in Vancouver and ahead of the 2026 Olympics. “I know what I’m capable of,” Pettersson told Ekholm. “Actually, I haven’t thought about it, but for myself it’s revenge. I’m not happy with last season.” What exactly is going to change for Pettersson? “I’ve put on some [muscle]. It’s always about building your base strength, to get quicker on the ice. To gain a few pounds, get stronger in general, that’s always the goal. But for me, it’s a bonus to gain a few pounds.” Pettersson scored 34 goals and 89 points in 2023-24, inking an eight-year, $12.6 million AAV contract in the middle of that season. The first year of it was terrible, with his lowest goals, assists, and points totals in his six full seasons. Only his 26-game 2020 campaign produced lower numbers. A vital season for Elias Pettersson and the Canucks The Canucks need to get Pettersson back to his 90-point pace to sniff the postseason this year. If they do not, Quinn Hughes will enter the final year of his contract with rumors flying everywhere. There are already conversations about him joining his brothers with the New Jersey Devils. That will only get louder if the 2025-26 season goes awry. The Canucks brought back Brock Boeser on a seven-year deal to play alongside Pettersson. That should help, even though they were both healthy for all of last year. Boeser’s numbers dropped as well, from 40 goals in 2023-24 to just 25 a year ago. Adam Foote comes into the fold as the new head coach after Rick Tocchet was let go and went to the Philadelphia Flyers. After three seasons as the team’s assistant, he got the promotion to the head coach role. That should help keep consistency among the star players there while bringing a new voice to the locker room. The Canucks will have a lot of pressure on them this season while playing in a loaded Western Conference. Can they win the Pacific Division like they did in 2024? Or will it be another disappointing season that ends in massive trade rumors?
Chargers star's brutal injury shows why players should hold out with new contracts on line
Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater was carted off the practice field on Thursday afternoon with what turned out to be a significant injury. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a season-ending knee injury. It's a massive blow to the team's offensive line and offense as a whole. It also serves as a harsh reminder as to why players will always — and should always — act on the side of caution when it comes to participating in training camp when they are seeking a new contract. In Slater's case, he's a lucky one because he just agreed to a new four-year, $114 million contract extension with $92 million in guarantees days before the injury happened. That contract was signed after he did not participate in some of the team's early training-camp practice sessions. If Slater had participated early on and had this injury happen before he was able to get his new deal signed, it would have been a devastating blow in his quest to get that pay day. Not only would the Chargers have had no incentive to pay him this season, but there is no guarantee he would have ever received that sort of contract in the future. Fans might not like the idea of a hold-out or hold-in, but you have to look at it from the perspective of the player. They have a very limited time to earn top dollar in the NFL, and there are never any guarantees. The hold-out/hold-in approach is not only a way to put pressure on the team to pay them, but it's also a matter of self-preservation. Football is a violent game. It's a physical game. It's a collision game. Injuries are always going to be a part of that. But injuries happen with much greater frequency early in the season, and especially in training camp, due to the fact that players are still working their way back into game shape and going through more intense and physical practices than they do at any point during the season. It's a dangerous time for them in terms of injuries, and that should not be overlooked when it comes to contract talks. Players have short careers and even less time to set themselves up financially. They should not be willing to take unnecessary risks when it comes to their earning power. The Slater situation shows just how delicate all of it is.
Green Bay Packers: MarShawn Lloyd Makes 1 Promise Amid Frustrating Setbacks
The Green Bay Packers are excited to find out what a whole healthy season from running back MarShawn Lloyd can contribute to their offense. Sure, the Packers have an elite running back as the top option on the ground in the form of Josh Jacobs, but Lloyd presents an exciting potential that remains untapped, in large part because of health setbacks. Lloyd played in only one game in 2024, his first season in the NFL. In the 2024 offseason, he dealt with hip and hamstring injuries. In Week 1 of the 2024 season, the former USC Trojans star running back suffered an ankle injury that landed him on the injured reserve. Just when he was about to get back to action, he was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy. Lloyd looked forward to the 2025 offseason and was among the most noticeable players in training camp until suffering a non-contact injury that has since sidelined him. Despite all that he’s gone through, Lloyd remains optimistic. Lloyd determined to make an impact in Year 2 with Green Bay Packers “It did. It does,” Lloyd said when asked about whether the setbacks had bothered him (h/t a video posted by Dominique Yates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Packers, Lloyd knows that it’s “going to be fun” once he gets unleashed on the field again. “But at the end of the day, I just got to stay in my face, you know, I feel like everything happens for a reason when, you know, when it’s time, you know, like I said, God’s gonna give me the strength to be able to do things I need to do. And when he lets me loose, it’s going to be a fun one. It’s going to be a good one. I’m excited to play with, you know, guys like Josh Jacobs, guys like Amalia Wilson, and guys like Chris Brooks. So it’s going to be, it’s going to be fun. I’m excited.” It remains to be seen whether Lloyd will get the green light to see some snaps in this coming Saturday’s preseason game against the New York Jets at Lambeau Field. But at least he’s already started rehabbing, which is a good sign for his chances to play in the Packers’ 2025 season opener at home against the Detroit Lions.
Cardinals All-Star Addresses Future; Hints Time In St. Louis Is Ending
The St. Louis Cardinals made changes this summer but the winter is going to be even more transformational. Trading away guys like Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton certainly hurt. But, these were necessary moves with the Cardinals' chances at a playoff spot just barely hanging on for dear life. The Cardinals are one game below .500 at 57-58 right now through 115 games played as of writing ahead of their showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon. Sure, the Cardinals could go on some long winning streak and change the perception around the club once again. That would be great, but right now, the odds of the club making the playoffs are slim and that's why the Cardinals traded the three relievers before they could hit the open market in free agency. Once the season ends, bigger changes are coming, though. Cardinals at crossroads that will start to be answered this winter The Cardinals used the trade deadline to move on from some of the team's players heading to free agency that didn't have no-trade clauses. The Cardinals opted against trading players under team control beyond this season and guys with no-traded clauses made it clear that they wanted to stick around, including Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras. Nolan Arenado also reportedly didn't expand his list of approved teams from this past offseason. Of the no-trade clause guys specifically, Gray, Contreras, and Arenado still control their destiny beyond the season. Mikolas will be a free agent and spoke about his future and noted he wants to continue pitching, but made it sound like he won't be back with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I want to finish strong," Mikolas said. "And I want to do my best to be a good example for the young guys. There are some young guys in here who I’ve seen from their rookie years, seen them mature and get better. Hopefully, I’ve left a little bit of an imprint on them. Show the younger guys what it’s like to go about your work – day in, day out, rain or shine. I’ll be in here tomorrow working out, busting my tail in the gym, getting my work done with the trainers, watching video, trying to get better. Bottom line: I want to finish strong and show teams that I’ve still got a lot of good baseball left in me... "I know teams look beyond that. They’ll look at everything. Teams are going to sign you after they go back and look at all of your starts and go, ‘What was the difference? Can we fix him? Can we help him? Can we do this? Can we do that?’ If my stuff is good – and the ball is coming out of my hand good – and I’m available wire to wire, that’s something. That’s something I take a lot of pride in...I’ll play as long as I can. The ball is still coming out of my hand pretty good for being almost 37. I’ll play as long as they let me." Mikolas has been with the Cardinals since 2018 and has earned two All-Star nods with the team, but his future is in question now.
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