It was late 2022 when the Winnipeg Jets did something that felt, well, a little desperate. They stripped the captaincy from Blake Wheeler. No one was named to replace him right away. For a whole season, the "C" just... vanished from the jersey. It felt like a team in the middle of an identity crisis, searching for a pulse in a locker room that had grown notoriously stale.
Then came September 2023.
Adam Lowry walked onto a stage at the Canada Life Centre and everything just kind of clicked. He wasn't the superstar scoring 40 goals. He wasn't the guy selling the most jerseys. But he was the guy every single player in that room actually looked to when the game got mean.
Fast forward to January 2026. Lowry isn't just the captain of Winnipeg Jets; he’s basically the personification of the franchise’s turnaround.
The Unlikely Rise of a Third-Line Captain
In the NHL, we usually give the captaincy to the guy with the most points. It's predictable. It's safe. You give it to the McDavids and the Matthews of the world. But Winnipeg chose a 6-foot-5, 210-pound defensive specialist who lives for the penalty kill.
Honestly? It was a masterstroke.
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Lowry was a third-round pick back in 2011. He's been here for the whole ride—the move from Atlanta, the 2018 Western Conference Final run, and the lean years that followed. He’s the first guy to jump into a scrum if a teammate gets touched and the last guy to leave the ice after a grueling practice. That kind of "lead by example" stuff sounds like a cliché until you see a guy with a shattered visor blocking a 95-mph slap shot in a meaningless Tuesday night game.
The 2024-25 Breakthrough and That Huge Extension
People outside of Manitoba might have missed just how dominant Lowry’s Jets were last season. They didn't just play well; they won the franchise’s first-ever Presidents' Trophy with 116 points.
Lowry himself hit career highs. 16 goals. A staggering +18 rating. But the real "captain moment" happened in the 2025 playoffs. If you were watching Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues, you probably still have the image of his double-overtime winner burned into your brain. That goal didn't just win a series; it validated the team's entire philosophy under Scott Arniel.
Because the team knows what they have, they didn't let him get anywhere near free agency. Just a few months ago, in November 2025, the Jets locked Lowry down with a five-year contract extension.
The details on that deal are pretty telling:
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- Value: $25 million total
- AAV: $5 million per season
- Duration: Through the 2030-31 season
- Context: The extension kicks in for the 2026-27 campaign
It’s a massive show of faith for a player who is already 32. But you aren't just paying for the goals. You're paying for the culture.
Dealing With Injuries and the Current 2025-26 Season
This current season hasn't been a walk in the park. Lowry actually missed the start of the 2025-26 schedule because of a significant hip surgery he underwent in May. There was a lot of anxiety in the city about how the team would look without him.
The Jets struggled early, falling toward the bottom of the Central Division while Lowry was rehabbing. It turns out, when you take the heart out of a lineup, the body doesn't function quite right.
Since he returned in November, things have stabilized. Just recently, on January 13, 2026, he notched a game-winning goal against the Islanders. It was a classic Lowry play—nothing flashy, just winning a battle in front of the net and outworking everyone else.
Why the Leadership Group Works
Lowry doesn't do this alone. The Jets have a very specific leadership hierarchy that seems to balance out the different personalities in the room.
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- Josh Morrissey (Alternate): The high-IQ defenseman who handles the media and the power play.
- Mark Scheifele (Alternate): The offensive engine and the longest-serving member of the core.
- Adam Lowry (Captain): The glue. The guy who bridges the gap between the superstars and the fourth-line grinders.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Captaincy
There’s this idea that being a captain in a Canadian market like Winnipeg is a burden. You’ve got fans who know every single stat and a media corps that analyzes your facial expressions in post-game scrums.
Lowry grew up in this. His dad, Dave Lowry, played over 1,000 NHL games and even captained the Calgary Flames. Adam has mentioned in interviews that he actually reached out to his dad and former teammate Jacob Trouba for advice on navigating the pressure. He knows that in Winnipeg, fans don't necessarily demand a Cup every year—though they’d love one—but they absolutely demand that you care as much as they do.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're tracking the Jets' progress through the rest of the 2026 season, don't just look at the scoresheet to judge the captain of Winnipeg Jets. Instead, watch these three specific things:
- The Penalty Kill Percentage: Lowry is the primary reason Winnipeg has consistently ranked in the top tier of the league for goals-against. When he’s on the ice, the slot is a restricted zone.
- Faceoff Wins in the Final Minute: If the Jets are up by one, #17 is taking the draw. Period.
- Post-Game Accountability: Listen to how he speaks after a loss. He never throws teammates under the bus, but he also doesn't sugarcoat when the effort isn't there.
The Jets currently sit in a dogfight for a wild card spot. It’s a far cry from the 116-point dominance of last year, but with a healthy Lowry and a veteran core, they are the team no one wants to face in April.
To keep up with the captain's impact, follow the official NHL game logs and the Winnipeg Jets PR feed for real-time lineup changes. If you're looking to understand the locker room vibe, the "Ground Control" podcast often features Lowry discussing the team's mental approach to the grind of the season.