Jets May Not Prioritize Acquiring A Second Line Center

The Winnipeg Jets may not prioritize a center at the NHL Trade Deadline if team captain Adam Lowry can continue his strong play at the position (as per Darren Dreger of TSN). Winnipeg has needed a second-line pivot for multiple seasons in a row now and was certainly prioritizing it before Lowry slid into the role out of necessity when Vladislav Namestnikov went down with a lower-body injury.

Now, Lowry’s sample size at the position is tiny at this point, having moved up for the previous two games. However, the early returns are terrific as Lowry, Nikolaj Ehlers and Alex Iafallo trio have been difficult to play against and have been offensive threats anytime they’ve been deployed as a unit. Lowry has a single assist in the two games since the move, but his overall play has benefitted both Ehlers and Iafallo.

It’s hard to envision Lowry becoming an offensive center at the age of 31, but his offensive game has been trending upward over the past few seasons. The St. Louis, Missouri native has enjoyed the two finest offensive seasons in the previous two years and appears poised to shatter his career high of 36 points this season.

It looks like Lowry and company will be allowed to see if they can put a stretch of play together that convinces Jets management to shift their hunt from a second-line center to perhaps the best overall forward that they can acquire. Or perhaps a third-line center to replace Lowry.

Winnipeg is in the conversation for the President’s Trophy and will likely be as aggressive as they were at last year’s Trade Deadline when they brought in center Sean Monahan from Montreal as well as Tyler Toffoli from New Jersey. The Jets have an aging core and with Ehlers contract status, they may only have one shot with a team as good as this one.