Kevin Lowe

Kevin Lowe (born April 15, 1959) in Lachute, Quebec, was a defenseman in the National Hockey League. He played for the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers. He is currently General Manager of the Oilers. Lowe 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 245PIM. 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 New York Rangers signed Lowe as a free agent in the summer of 1992. 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 penalties in 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. He is currently 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 defenseman.

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.

Sources/External References

• Slate, Ralph. The Internet Hockey Database. Stats checked 25 July 2004.
• Unknown. An Oiler Original.
• Unknown. HockeyDraft Central.