Kevin Lowe

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


position = Defence
played_for = Edmonton Oilers
New York Rangers
shot = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 200
nicknames = Vish (Vicious), K-Lo
nationality = Canada
birth_date = birth date and age|1959|4|15
birth_place = Hawkesbury, ON, CAN
draft = 21st overall
draft_year = 1979
draft_team = Edmonton Oilers
career_start = 1979
career_end = 1998

Kevin Hugh Lowe (born April 15, 1959 in Hawkesbury, Ontario but grew up in Lachute, Quebec) is a former defenceman and coach in the National Hockey League and the current President of Hockey Operations for the Edmonton Oilers. As a defenceman, he played for the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers. He is married to Canadian Olympian Karen Percy.

Background and early career

Lowe played 3 seasons 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.

NHL playing career

Lowe played 13 full seasons in his first stint with the Oilers, winning 5 Stanley Cups. He was team captain for the 1991–92 season.

The Oilers traded him to the New York Rangers, in December 1992 (Lowe was a restricted free-agent). There he helped other ex-Oilers Glenn Anderson, Jeff Beukeboom, Adam Graves, Craig MacTavish, Mark Messier, and Esa Tikkanen to win another Stanley Cup, bringing his personal total to 6.

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 due to illness - an inner-ear virus that affected his balance, thus ending his playing career.

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, getting the Oilers to the first round of the playoffs. He was appointed the team's general manager in 2000 when long-time GM Glen Sather left for the New York Rangers. Since then, he has been the Oilers' Executive Vice President and General Manager.

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. Brian Burke, GM of The Anaheim Ducks, has publicly blamed Lowe for an inflation in player salaries, though Lowe did not respond to these attacks until July 4, 2008.

Notable achievements

Kevin Lowe holds the Edmonton Oilers record for most regular season and playoff games played as an Oiler (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). 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.

Kevin Lowe was named an NHL all-star in 1984, 1985, 1986,1988, 1989, 1990, and 1993. He also won the league's King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1990.

Career statistics

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1976-77 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 69 3 19 22 391977-78 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 64 13 52 65 861978-79 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 68 26 60 86 1201979-80 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 2 19 21 70 3 0 1 1 01980-81 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 10 24 34 94 9 0 2 2 111981-82 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 9 31 40 63 5 0 3 3 01982-83 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 6 34 40 43 16 1 8 9 101983-84 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 4 42 46 59 19 3 7 10 161984-85 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 4 22 26 104 16 0 5 5 81985-86 Edmonton Oilers NHL 74 2 16 18 90 10 1 3 4 151986-87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 77 8 29 37 94 21 2 4 6 221987-88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 70 9 15 24 89 19 0 2 2 261988-89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 76 7 18 25 98 7 1 2 3 41989-90 Edmonton Oilers NHL 78 7 26 33 140 20 0 2 2 101990-91 Edmonton Oilers NHL 73 3 13 16 113 14 1 1 2 141991-92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 55 2 8 10 107 11 0 3 3 161992-93 New York Rangers NHL 49 3 12 15 58 -- -- -- -- --1993-94 New York Rangers NHL 71 5 14 19 70 22 1 0 1 201994-95 New York Rangers NHL 44 1 7 8 58 10 0 1 1 121995-96 New York Rangers NHL 53 1 5 6 76 10 0 4 4 41996-97 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 1 13 14 50 1 0 0 0 01997-98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 7 0 0 0 22 1 0 0 0 4-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL Totals 1254 84 348 432 1498 214 10 48 58 192

References/External links

*hockeydb|3216
* [http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/dynasty_players_kevinlowe.html An Oiler Original] .
* [http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79021.html HockeyDraft Central] .
* Edmonton Oilers Heritage site [http://www.oilersheritage.com/memories/videos_lowe_1st_goal.html Video of Oilers 1st NHL goal by Kevin Lowe]
* Hockey Hall of Fame. legendsofhockey|10968