Kevin Lowe

Kevin Lowe
Kevin Lowe
	Hockey Hall of Fame, 2020
	Lowe in 2006
Born	April 15, 1959; Lachute, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Edmonton Oilers; New York Rangers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	21st overall, 1979; Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	1979–1998

Kevin Hugh Lowe (born April 15, 1959) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive, former coach and former player. Lowe is the vice-chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group, having formerly served as head coach and then general manager of the Edmonton Oilers.[1] As a defenceman, he played for the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers.

Over his career, Lowe won the Stanley Cup six times. In 1990, he was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Background and early career

Lowe played three seasons of junior hockey, starting in 1976 with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. He scored 42–131–173 in 201 games played, with 245 PIM. In the 1978–79 season, he was named the first English-speaking captain of a QMJHL team. He was drafted in the first round, 21st overall, of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, the franchise's first ever NHL draft selection.

NHL playing career

Lowe played 13 full seasons in his first stint with the Oilers, and helped lead them to five Stanley Cups. As one of the alternate captains during his first tenure, Lowe was regarded as one of the leaders of the Oilers' 1980s dynasty, along with Wayne Gretzky (team captain) and Mark Messier (alternate captain).

Lowe became team captain for the 1991–92 season after Mark Messier was traded to the New York Rangers.

The Oilers traded him to the New York Rangers, in December 1992 (Lowe was a restricted free-agent). In 1994, he won the Stanley Cup with six other ex-Oilers--Glenn Anderson, Jeff Beukeboom, Adam Graves, Craig MacTavish, Mark Messier, and Esa Tikkanen—bringing his personal total to six.

In 1996, he re-joined the Oilers as a free agent, and played another full season. He started the 1997–98 season with the Oilers as well, but only played 7 games before being forced to retire due to an inner-ear virus that affected his balance.

In total, Lowe played in 1254 career regular season games, scoring 84–347–431 with 1498 penalty minutes. He added another 214 playoff games, scoring 10–48–58 and earning 192 penalty minutes.

Post playing career

Lowe joined the Oilers staff in 1998 as an assistant coach. In 1999, he took over head coaching duties from Ron Low. He was head coach for just a single season, winning 32 out of 82 games(32-26-16-8), and getting the Oilers to the first round of the playoffs where they fell to the Dallas Stars with a record of 1-4. He was promoted to general manager of the Oilers in 2000 when long-time GM Glen Sather left for the New York Rangers. He remained the Oilers' Executive Vice President and General Manager until the 2008–09 season when he was promoted to President of Hockey Operations.

Lowe has also been responsible for assisting Canadian national hockey teams. He was a member of the management team for the Canadian men's ice hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics that won the gold medal, and was also named a manager for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey team. In addition, he has managed Team Canada at World Hockey Championships.

In 2005, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League created the Kevin Lowe Trophy (Trophée Kevin Lowe), awarded annually to the player in the QMJHL judged to be the best defensive defenceman.

In the 2006–2007 NHL offseason Lowe offered contracts to restricted free agents Thomas Vanek, which was matched by the Buffalo Sabres, then to Anaheim forward Dustin Penner, which was signed. Following the offer sheet to Penner, Brian Burke, the then-GM of The Anaheim Ducks, publicly blamed Lowe for an inflation in player salaries, accusing Lowe of "colossal stupidity".[2] Then head coach Craig MacTavish responded by referring Burke to the Wizard of Oz, "You comb his hair, put a white shirt on, wheel him out in front of the camera and he'll say whatever you guys want".[3][4] Lowe did not respond to Burke's attacks until July 4, 2008 on a local radio show, Total Sports with Bob Stauffer, calling Burke a "moron" and "a media junkie".[5][6]

Lowe's No. 4 has not been retired, but he had been the only player in the Oilers' NHL history to wear No. 4 until he issued it to Taylor Hall, the Oilers' first-overall draft pick in 2010.

Lowe was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020.[7] Primarily a defensive defenceman during his playing career, Lowe was the first defensive defenceman named to the Hall since Rod Langway in 2002.[7]

Notable achievements

Lowe played more regular season and playoff games in an Oilers uniform than anyone in franchise history (1037 and 172). He was the team's first-ever NHL draft pick, and scored their first NHL goal (a power play goal against the Chicago Blackhawks assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Brett Callighen; Gretzky's first NHL point). Many believe Gretzky tipped the shot. During his professional hockey career, Lowe did not play a single game in the minor leagues, and his teams only once failed to make the playoffs.

Lowe was named to play in the NHL All-Star Game in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1993. He also won the league's King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1990.

During the Oilers' run to the 1988 Stanley Cup, Lowe played with a broken wrist and a full cast, yet didn't miss a single playoff game. On the night the Oilers won the Cup, Wayne Gretzky informed the media that Lowe was also hiding broken ribs throughout the playoffs. Kevin Lowe was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.[8]

Personal information

Lowe is the younger brother of the former Edmonton Oilers Head Medical Trainer Ken Lowe. He is married to Canadian Olympian Karen Percy, and is the father of Bakersfield Condors defenceman Keegan Lowe, who was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round, 73rd overall of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[9] Lowe's oldest son is Canadian filmmaker, Shane Fennessey.[10] Kevin is also the uncle of Melissa Lowe, a Canadian bobsleigh athlete.[11]

Awards and achievements

Member of six Stanley Cup winning teams: 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990 with the Edmonton Oilers and 1994 with the New York Rangers
Selected to seven NHL All-Star Games: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1993
Winner of the 1990 King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Member of the 1984 Canada Cup Championship team.

Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on June 24, 2020.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1976–77	Quebec Remparts	QMJHL	69	3	19	22	26	14	0	3	3	4
1977–78	Quebec Remparts	QMJHL	64	13	52	65	81	4	1	2	3	6
1978–79	Quebec Remparts	QMJHL	68	26	60	86	120	6	1	7	8	36
1979–80	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	64	2	19	21	70	3	0	1	1	0
1980–81	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	79	10	24	34	94	9	0	2	2	11
1981–82	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	80	9	31	40	63	5	0	3	3	0
1982–83	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	80	6	34	40	43	16	1	8	9	10
1983–84	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	80	4	42	46	59	19	3	7	10	16
1984–85	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	80	4	21	25	104	16	0	5	5	8
1985–86	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	74	2	16	18	90	10	1	3	4	15
1986–87	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	77	8	29	37	94	21	2	4	6	22
1987–88	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	70	9	15	24	89	19	0	2	2	26
1988–89	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	76	7	18	25	98	7	1	2	3	4
1989–90	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	78	7	26	33	140	20	0	2	2	10
1990–91	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	73	3	13	16	113	14	1	1	2	14
1991–92	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	55	2	8	10	107	11	0	3	3	16
1992–93	New York Rangers	NHL	49	3	12	15	58	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	New York Rangers	NHL	71	5	14	19	70	22	1	0	1	20
1994–95	New York Rangers	NHL	44	1	7	8	58	10	0	1	1	12
1995–96	New York Rangers	NHL	53	1	5	6	76	10	0	4	4	4
1996–97	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	64	1	13	14	50	1	0	0	0	0
1997–98	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	7	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4
NHL totals			1254	84	347	431	1498	214	10	48	58	192

International

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1982	Canada	WC	9	1	1	2	2
1984	Canada	CC	7	0	4	4	8
Senior totals			16	1	5	6	10

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
Team	Year	G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win %	Result
EDM	1999–2000	82	32	26	16	8	88	2nd in Northwest	1	4	.200	Lost in first round (Dallas)

gollark: I can live with just 30 or so, right?

gollark: Great, I'll remove a few chromosomes.

gollark: So salamanders are really intelligent?

gollark: Did you know that if you drink pure glucose, you will gain energy?

gollark: https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/ed-msg.html

References

https://www.nhl.com/oilers/team/front-office
Cox, Damien (October 10, 2007). "It's all about the dough? Not so in this Burke-Lowe feud". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
"Oilers GM Lowe fires back at Ducks' Burke". CBC.ca. CBC News. July 5, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
Cox, Damien (October 10, 2007). "It's all about the dough? Not so in this Burke-Lowe feud". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
"Bettman tries to put an end to Burke/Lowe feud". Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
"Bettman Orders Burke, Lowe To "Cease and Desist" Bickering". sportsbusinessdaily.com. July 8, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
"Lowe, Wilson end 43-year wait for Hockey Hall of Fame". tsn.ca. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
Matheson, Jim (May 26, 1988). "Edmonton Oilers history: Team sweeps Boston Bruins to win its fourth Stanley Cup, May 26, 1988". Retrieved December 16, 2017.
"KEEGAN LOWE". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
Staples, David; June 12, Edmonton Journal Updated; 2014 (June 13, 2014). "Kevin Lowe the player: "If I don't practise hard, I could lose my job." | Edmonton Journal". Retrieved April 18, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Tait, Cam (January 30, 2017). "Office to the Track: 140 kms [sic] an hour for Melissa Lowe". NHL.com. Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved December 21, 2017.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
HockeyDraft Central.
.
Edmonton Oilers Heritage site Video of Oilers 1st NHL goal by Kevin Lowe

Preceded by Mike Crombeen	Edmonton Oilers first round draft pick 1979	Succeeded by Paul Coffey
Preceded by Bryan Trottier	Winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy 1990	Succeeded by Dave Taylor
Preceded by Glen Sather	General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers 2000-08	Succeeded by Steve Tambellini
Preceded by Ron Low	Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers 1999–2000	Succeeded by Craig MacTavish
Preceded by Mark Messier	Edmonton Oilers captain 1991–92	Succeeded by Craig MacTavish

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] ttps://www.nhl.com/oilers/team/front-office

[2] Cox, Damien (October 10, 2007). "It's all about the dough? Not so in this Burke-Lowe feud". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 16, 2017.

[3] "Oilers GM Lowe fires back at Ducks' Burke". CBC.ca. CBC News. July 5, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2017.

[4] Cox, Damien (October 10, 2007). "It's all about the dough? Not so in this Burke-Lowe feud". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 16, 2017.

[5] "Bettman tries to put an end to Burke/Lowe feud". Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2017.

[6] "Bettman Orders Burke, Lowe To "Cease and Desist" Bickering". sportsbusinessdaily.com. July 8, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2017.

[HHOF-7] "Lowe, Wilson end 43-year wait for Hockey Hall of Fame". tsn.ca. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[history-8] Matheson, Jim (May 26, 1988). "Edmonton Oilers history: Team sweeps Boston Bruins to win its fourth Stanley Cup, May 26, 1988". Retrieved December 16, 2017.

[9] "KEEGAN LOWE". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved December 21, 2017.

[10] Staples, David; June 12, Edmonton Journal Updated; 2014 (June 13, 2014). "Kevin Lowe the player: "If I don't practise hard, I could lose my job." | Edmonton Journal". Retrieved April 18, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[11] Tait, Cam (January 30, 2017). "Office to the Track: 140 kms [sic] an hour for Melissa Lowe". NHL.com. Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved December 21, 2017.