The disappointment of their 2025 playoff defeat hasn’t faded for Winnipeg Jets’ captain Adam Lowry, but he’s determined to lead his team to glory in the future.
“We Felt Like We Had a Team That Should and Could Still Be Playing”
“We’re all still disappointed. We all still want to be playing. We felt like we had a team that should and could still be playing,” Lowry said Wednesday. He was speaking to reporters Wednesday for the first time since just minutes after the devastating Game 6 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars Saturday night that closed a dark day that began with news of Mark Scheifele’s father Brad’s death.
“We came up short of our goal but zooming out and looking at the season as a whole, I feel like we can be proud of the steps we took as a group, the growth we showed.”
The Jets dominated for much of the regular season, winning 56 games and capturing the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy. They managed to get past the first round in the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and had some great moments — most notably, the Game 7 comeback for the ages against the St. Louis Blues in the first round — but didn’t play up to their full potential or follow their blueprint for success often enough. A combination of shaky goaltending, poor special teams, lack of bottom-six production, and inability to win on the road led to their relatively-early ouster.
May 17, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Winnipeg Jets center Adam Lowry (17) hugs center Mark Scheifele (55) after the Jets lose to the Dallas Stars during the overtime period in game six of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Lowry said he felt the Jets were “right there” in the series against the Stars and hopes they can put themselves in a good spot for another playoff run next season — “hopefully this one ends in late June instead of late May.”
On what might have been “missing” in the Jets’ postseason performance, Lowry mentioned the team’s road play and lack of secondary scoring — from himself included — as factors.
Related: Jets’ End-of-Season Interviews Reflect on 2nd-Round Playoff Exit & Lessons Learned
“Obviously our road performance was disappointing, not being able to find a way to even get one in the playoffs,” he said of going 0-6 away from Canada Life Centre. “I think that comes down to being comfortable with our structure. We needed some depth scoring. I had zero points in the playoffs on the road. It’s things like that where at this time of year depth can win you games or lose you games.”
“That’s Kind of How I Picture Myself: As a Winnipeg Jet For Life”
Lowry had 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points in 73 games this season and four goals in 13 playoff games, including the double overtime Game 7 game winner to lift the Jets to a first-round series victory over the Blues. Just as importantly, he became an even more effective leader in his second season as captain and continued to lead by example with his work ethic and genuine nature.
A great example of the type of quality person Lowry is was on display after the Game 6 loss. Seeing Scheifele in the penalty box with his head down after Thomas Harley’s overtime game winner was gutting, and Lowry set aside his own personal sadness to go straight to the box to comfort his friend.
So real: Jets captain Adam Lowry goes into penalty box to console teammate Mark Scheifele, who was 8 secs from getting out when Dallas scored series-winning power play goal in OT to end Winnipeg’s season. Scheifele was playing hours after his dad died.
Stanley Cup playoffs, man pic.twitter.com/8u5xeSQp8m
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) May 18, 2025
Lowry only has one year left on the five-year deal he signed in 2021, but at 32 years old and the longest-tenured Jet along with Scheifele, he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
He laughed when told straight-up “you seem like a guy who would be a Jet for life,” but then got serious and expressed his love for Winnipeg.
“I love playing in Winnipeg, I’ve been very fortunate to be here my whole career, drafted, played in St. John’s, came up through the ranks, just finished my 11th year here,” the second-ever Jets 2.0 draft pick said. “I think that’s kind of how I picture myself: as a Winnipeg Jet for life. I love this city. I love playing in front of these fans. I think that’s something I think that hopefully we take steps toward getting that out of the way this summer.”
Adam Lowry of the Winnipeg Jets celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal during the second overtime period against the St. Louis Blues to win Game Seven of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Photo by Cameron Bartlett/Getty Images)
He knows the organization’s focus may be on pending free agents before his contract situation, but that doesn’t matter to him. “I don’t see that being an issue. As long as they want to bring me back, I’m more than happy to come back. It’s such a great place to play,” he continued.
“I Thought He Did an Unbelievable Job:” Lowry on Arniel
Lowry then praised head coach Scott Arniel, who is nominated for the Jack Adams Award and in his first year as bench boss, continued to build on the foundation Rick Bowness established.
“I thought he did an unbelievable job and I think he should win the Jack Adams, to be honest,” Lowry said. “He came in built off of some of the structure and stuff that Bones put in place but then kind of had his own spin on it, made some tweaks.”
“He does such a good job of communicating his expectations, communicating with the players so you know where you stand with him. He’s hard on us at times but he’s extremely fair and does an extremely good job at pushing to get the most out of us,” he continued. He mentioned the entire coaching staff’s ability to develop strong gameplans and make adjustments as positives.
“As he gets even more experience he’s only going to grow in that role, and in his confidence in his self, and the way he views the game,” Lowry concluded. “But I thought he had an excellent first season and we’re lucky to have him as our head coach.”