Winnipeg Jets Lose Leader to Hip Surgery

The Winnipeg Jets have to alter their off-season plans after the news they learned on Wednesday. The team announced that team captain Adam Lowry underwent hip surgery and is expected to miss the next five to six months. The earliest we can expect Lowry to return would be in November. However, this would be the best-case scenario, and without Lowry suffering any setbacks. Here’s how the loss of Lowry affects the Jets and their off-season moves.

Adam Lowry’s Impact on the Jets

Lowry has been a staple of the Winnipeg roster ever since making his debut back in the 2014-15 season. Throughout his 11-year NHl career, he has registered 121 goals and 152 assists for 273 total points. However, Lowry’s most significant attribute has been his durability. He’s currently played in 775 games, which is the fourth most in Jets/Thrashers history. He needs to play in 122 more games to break Blake Wheeler’s franchise record.

This past season saw Lowry set a new career high in goals scored with 16. He also tallied 18 assists to put his point total at 34, the third highest in his career. Furthermore, he scored four goals during the Jets’ playoff run, including the series-winning goal in double overtime against the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of the opening round.

How Will the Jets Replace Him?

Although Lowry’s injury won’t cause the Jets to make drastic changes to their roster, they will have to replace him. With Lowry spending most of his time as the third-line centre, they won’t need to break the bank on someone to go into their top six. However, they might have to spend a couple of million on a free agent to fill that role. Money that would and still could have gone into giving an extension to guys like Dylan Samberg and Gabriel Vilardi.

Lowry’s injury also forces them to find a replacement on their penalty kill. Last season, the Jets’ penalty kill was 79.4%, good for 13th in the NHL. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they killed off 75% of penalties. A big reason for this was the contribution they got from Lowry. He centred the top penalty kill unit and spent 143.2 minutes on ice during penalty kills. This is not going to be easy to replace, and the Jets are going to have to be creative to fill the hole left by Lowry’s injury.