Jets name Lowry 10th captain in franchise history

The Winnipeg Jets handed Adam Lowry the "C" on Tuesday, making him the 10th captain in franchise history and the third since they relocated from Atlanta.

Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey will remain alternate captains for the Jets. They wore "As" last season, along with Lowry, while Winnipeg went without a captain.

"As a teammate, Adam has become one of the most respected players by his peers by how he plays the game on the ice and for all that he brings to the team off of it," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said in a statement Tuesday.

Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness was equally effusive in his praise for Lowry.

"He's a true professional, he has total respect from every player on the team, every player around the league, and certainly from the coaching staff as well," Bowness said. "We just feel at this point it’s the right time to name Adam as our captain."

Lowry has spent his entire NHL tenure with the Jets, who drafted him 67th overall in 2011. The 30-year-old forward isn't known for his offense, but he contributed 13 goals and 23 assists while averaging 15:39 of ice time and playing all 82 games for the second time in his career last season. That workload was his highest since 2016-17, when he averaged 16:03.

The gritty Canadian - who was born in St. Louis when his father, Dave, played for the Blues but grew up north of the border - also won 50.4% of his 1,180 faceoffs in 2022-23.

Lowry is entering his 10th season with the Jets, who stripped Blake Wheeler of the captaincy last September. Winnipeg then bought out Wheeler's contract June 30.

Wheeler had been the Jets' captain since 2016. He succeeded Andrew Ladd, who the then-Atlanta Thrashers named captain in 2010 before moving to Winnipeg prior to the 2011-12 season.