Only a few short months ago, the 2026 UFA class looked like it could be one of the best in NHL history. But since then, the list has been thinned out quite quickly. Another player can now be crossed off that list as the team announced that they’ve signed center Adam Lowry to a five-year contract extension. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the deal will carry a $5MM AAV and be worth $25MM in total.
The two sides were reported to be making progress on an extension earlier this month so it’s not too surprising to see this get across the finish line.
The 32-year-old is in the final season of his five-year, $16.25MM deal signed back in 2021. He has never been a high-end offensive contributor in his 12-year NHL career (his highest point total is 36) but over the past few years, he has become a reliable two-way player. The captain has long been a sound defensive player who brought plenty of physicality to the table and that’s a combination that is especially appealing in a team’s bottom six.
Lowry missed the start of the season while recovering from hip surgery but has jumped right back into his usual role since returning. In seven games, he has a goal and two assists along with 16 hits in 14:22 of playing time. For his career (spent in its entirety with the Jets who drafted him in the third round back in 2011), Lowry has 122 goals and 154 hits in 782 games.
This deal represents a nice raise from his current $3.25MM AAV while getting a long-term agreement for the second straight contract. While a $5MM AAV for someone whose production is more in the third-line range, those other elements he brings made it likely that he could have landed a deal at or higher than this price point on the open market.
Meanwhile, the Jets also get some much-needed stability down the middle. Mark Scheifele is also signed through 2030-31, meaning that Winnipeg has two of their top three centers in place for the long haul. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff still has some work to do to secure a long-term fit for their second center position (a role filled by Jonathan Toews this year) but that’s a strong foundation down the middle to build off of.
With the signing, the Jets now have around $78.7MM in commitments for the 2026-27 season, per PuckPedia. That gives them around $25MM in cap room based on the projected $104MM Upper Limit. Cole Perfetti, a pending restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights, will take up a good chunk of that but the rest of their pending free agents (all unrestricted) are for players more in depth roles. That could give Cheveldayoff a chance to try to make a splash to add another core piece to his roster, either via trade or free agency this summer.
Murat Ates of The Athletic was the first to report that an extension had been agreed upon.
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.
Two years at 5 per is better, And ultimately, Less regrettable down the road.