A team's captain doesn't always need to be the best player or the highest scoring player. Sometimes, it can be an important role player. Such is the case for the Winnipeg Jets, who named an unexpected player as the team's next captain on Tuesday.
The Jets had a number of solid options to wear the "C" next season, including Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and even Mark Scheifele. They, instead, opted to name middle-six forward Adam Lowry the team's new captain.
Lowry, 30, netted just 13 goals and 36 points last season, but was one of the Jets' better players in the postseason, notching 5 points in 5 games against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in round 1.
Obviously, with Scheifele's future uncertain in Winnipeg, they couldn't slap the "C" on his sweater knowing that he might be gone at the deadline. Either way, the decision to name Lowry as captain is a bit of a surprising one any way you slice it. Lowry is a bottom-six forward that can play up in your top six if required, has only 3 seasons left on his current deal, whereas Morrissey has 5 seasons remaining on his deal and already plays a leadership role on the team.
Is the move a bad one? Not necessarily. Lowry does have that "lead by example" characteristic to him. He plays in the hard areas, forechecks hard, will drop the gloves if the situation calls for it and finishes his checks. He does things the right way, even if he's not the team's best player. In that sense, perhaps he is a solid selection - even if the decision was an unexpected one.
