Article from 2017
https://thehockeywriters....-line-centers-in-the-nhl/

If points are the indicator, then Lowry has a lot of company on the team for underachieving.
- bennythehat

Not really, when you consider that defensemen typically don't get as many points as forwards do and ice time played Lowry far and away is the most underachieving player in the goals and assists category unless you want to compare him to the current 4th line of a 19 year old rookie who's playing pro in North America, a very good AHL player and another rookie who's playing in North America for the first time then yeah sure Lowry is killing it then.. Lol

Pageau? Really? The guy is doing something this year he hasn’t done his entire career, nice argument.

Lowry salary has nothing to do with it? It absolutely does! And he’s paid exactly for what he does!! He plays against top lines and helps shut them down, he plays the tough minutes and hard game we lack.

Does anyone know how few teams in the league actually have a producing third line? Do you not know how many teams rely on one line!!! Avs, Boston, Oilers.....I can on and on and on, The Jets have two scoring lines, this is the norm in the league not the outlier.
- Ross77

Look at Pageau's scoring history though, always produced at a good rate most seasons and better then Lowry ever has, yes this is likely a career year for Pageau but he's had some pretty productive seasons in the past whereas Lowry really hasn't and his most productive season was one where he missed half of it due to injury but hey it was the Jets best season so what does that say...

Lowry could play those minutes from the 4th line and give this team a better overall attack and more balanced minutes and less burn out to the top 6, he's a 4th line player and his lack of production proves it. Lowry's lack of production in the last few seasons since the Jets entered contender status is one of the reasons their top 6 players are so burnt out by the end of the season, chasing leads cause Lowry's line plays so much but doesn't score then Scheiffele, Wheeler, etc would get overplayed trying to score to get back into the game.

Take a look at the production good teams get from their 3rd line and bottom 6 in general and it's better then the Jets and if you want to go on and on about Boston and Colorado take a look at their 3rd line centers and their bottom 6 players in general, much more productive then the Jets.
Look at old Bellmare on the Avs, out producing Lowry at a pretty good clip and he might be their 4C.. Lol.. The Oilers are relying on the best player in the league and Draisaitl so they're in a unique position but are a bad team outside of a few players, not really worth comparing to. Yes most teams rely on their top 2 lines for offense but the best teams get better production from their 3rd line and even 4th then the Jets get and secondary scoring is important, you're kidding yourself if you think it doesn't matter.

I'll touch in on two subjects here, Lowry and Shore.

Lowry is pretty adequately paid for his role on this team. The Jets no longer have the brawn of Buff and guys like Thornburn, or hitters like Tanev. Lowry fits that role very well. He lays out the hits , defends teammates in times of need, and his line tends to keep the opponents' lines at bay and wears them out. Jets domination of third periods might be somewhat attributable to that. Furthermore, he is excellent on the faceoff. Personally, though I think he would be a better winger than center because his best attributes are grinding guys on the boards and cycling the puck rather than spending time in the middle ( ie. take the faceoff and slide to wing). His downsides are his speed, shot, and hockey sense ( lack of passing vision) which can be frustrating at times. There are obviously better third line centers in this league (Bonnino, Pageau, Faksa, Cirelli, Eller, etc) but they are harder to find than you think and Lowry is probably in the top 25th percentile for his role.

Nick Shore will improve the 4th line if not only for his faceoff skills. The 4th line is usually only on the ice for 30 -40 seconds before the next line takes over. If he wins a faceoff then that can eat up the first 20 seconds quite easily ( same can be said about Lowry). Accompany that with his passing skills, and positive analytics, PK abilities, and he slides into that 4th line role quite nicely. My only judgment left on him will be what type of grit and work ethic he brings . We will see today on that aspect.

Look at Pageau's scoring history though, always produced at a good rate most seasons and better then Lowry ever has, yes this is likely a career year for Pageau but he's had some pretty productive seasons in the past whereas Lowry really hasn't and his most productive season was one where he missed half of it due to injury but hey it was the Jets best season so what does that say...

Lowry could play those minutes from the 4th line and give this team a better overall attack and more balanced minutes and less burn out to the top 6, he's a 4th line player and his lack of production proves it. Lowry's lack of production in the last few seasons since the Jets entered contender status is one of the reasons their top 6 players are so burnt out by the end of the season, chasing leads cause Lowry's line plays so much but doesn't score then Scheiffele, Wheeler, etc would get overplayed trying to score to get back into the game.

Take a look at the production good teams get from their 3rd line and bottom 6 in general and it's better then the Jets and if you want to go on and on about Boston and Colorado take a look at their 3rd line centers and their bottom 6 players in general, much more productive then the Jets.
Look at old Bellmare on the Avs, out producing Lowry at a pretty good clip and he might be their 4C.. Lol.. The Oilers are relying on the best player in the league and Draisaitl so they're in a unique position but are a bad team outside of a few players, not really worth comparing to. Yes most teams rely on their top 2 lines for offense but the best teams get better production from their 3rd line and even 4th then the Jets get and secondary scoring is important, you're kidding yourself if you think it doesn't matter.
- JetFuel

Lowry is not here to score. He also had the slowest start to his career this year. I can list as many teams not scoring on their bottom 6 as you can who are. So that’s a wash

Pageau is scoring yes, but pales to Lowry in so many other categories and intangibles you can’t measure

Teams rely on top 6 scoring and bottom 6 not getting scored on.

How many of the Laine haters in here had him leading our team after 30 games?

How many of the Laine haters in here had him leading our team after 30 games?
- Ross77

The same as those who believed that defense is an important position! Which it has proven to be overrated.

On the topic of Laine, it's amazing that it took him this long to realize that hockey is a team sport.

Look at Pageau's scoring history though, always produced at a good rate most seasons and better then Lowry ever has, yes this is likely a career year for Pageau but he's had some pretty productive seasons in the past whereas Lowry really hasn't and his most productive season was one where he missed half of it due to injury but hey it was the Jets best season so what does that say...

Lowry could play those minutes from the 4th line and give this team a better overall attack and more balanced minutes and less burn out to the top 6, he's a 4th line player and his lack of production proves it. Lowry's lack of production in the last few seasons since the Jets entered contender status is one of the reasons their top 6 players are so burnt out by the end of the season, chasing leads cause Lowry's line plays so much but doesn't score then Scheiffele, Wheeler, etc would get overplayed trying to score to get back into the game.

Take a look at the production good teams get from their 3rd line and bottom 6 in general and it's better then the Jets and if you want to go on and on about Boston and Colorado take a look at their 3rd line centers and their bottom 6 players in general, much more productive then the Jets.
Look at old Bellmare on the Avs, out producing Lowry at a pretty good clip and he might be their 4C.. Lol.. The Oilers are relying on the best player in the league and Draisaitl so they're in a unique position but are a bad team outside of a few players, not really worth comparing to. Yes most teams rely on their top 2 lines for offense but the best teams get better production from their 3rd line and even 4th then the Jets get and secondary scoring is important, you're kidding yourself if you think it doesn't matter.
- JetFuel

JetFuel, it's so refreshing to know that there are other Jets fans who can think critically about the team without drinking the True North Kool-Aid.

Lowry is not here to score. He also had the slowest start to his career this year. I can list as many teams not scoring on their bottom 6 as you can who are. So that’s a wash

Pageau is scoring yes, but pales to Lowry in so many other categories and intangibles you can’t measure

Teams rely on top 6 scoring and bottom 6 not getting scored on.
- Ross77

Comparing Pageau and Lowry is a loss for Lowry all day everyday, I appreciate the punches to the face he gave to that waste of skin Perry but a couple scraps so far is about the only category he'll beat Pageau in but I'm sure someone can drag up some obscure fancy stats, graphs or weird pie charts that say Lowry "tilts" the ice more or is the superior player compared to Pageau.. Lol.. BUT at the end of the day goals are what counts and Lowry doesn't get them or assist on them.

Oh and if he wasn't having a slow start he'd likely be on pace for 4th line numbers which is WHAT HE IS instead of the 4th line plug/AHL callup numbers he's currently on pace for. Like let's get real for a minute here, if Nick Shore gets a point today and Lowry doesn't they'll be tied for points!!

My point is simply that this team would be far better off if Lowry was doing what he's good at with 10 minutes from the 4th line, not the 14 he gets on the 3rd.

The same as those who believed that defense is an important position! Which it has proven to be overrated.

On the topic of Laine, it's amazing that it took him this long to realize that hockey is a team sport.
- TheUltimateJet

Ya he is so old and has never had assists before in his career lmao

Comparing Pageau and Lowry is a loss for Lowry all day everyday, I appreciate the punches to the face he gave to that waste of skin Perry but a couple scraps so far is about the only category he'll beat Pageau in but I'm sure someone can drag up some obscure fancy stats, graphs or weird pie charts that say Lowry "tilts" the ice more or is the superior player compared to Pageau.. Lol.. BUT at the end of the day goals are what counts and Lowry doesn't get them or assist on them.

Oh and if he wasn't having a slow start he'd likely be on pace for 4th line numbers which is WHAT HE IS instead of the 4th line plug/AHL callup numbers he's currently on pace for. Like let's get real for a minute here, if Nick Shore gets a point today and Lowry doesn't they'll be tied for points!!

My point is simply that this team would be far better off if Lowry was doing what he's good at with 10 minutes from the 4th line, not the 14 he gets on the 3rd.
- JetFuel

Pageau about to join the leagues most over paid players club, great and not at all suspicious season he’s finally having.

Buyer beware

Lowry !!!!

Kyle Connor’s poor defensive play causes sooo many goals against that never gets mentioned

Kyle Connor’s poor defensive play causes sooo many goals against that never gets mentioned
- Ross77

Very much agree, yet if Laine costs the Jets a goal many lose their minds, there's not a Jet that gets more of a free pass then Connor imo. I like Connor but it's ridiculous how he completely escapes criticism.

Very much agree, yet if Laine costs the Jets a goal many lose their minds, there's not a Jet that gets more of a free pass then Connor imo. I like Connor but it's ridiculous how he completely escapes criticism.
- JetFuel

Yes I agree

Kyle Connor’s poor defensive play causes sooo many goals against that never gets mentioned
- Ross77

Conner is a generational goal scorer he doesn't have to play defense.

How many of the Laine haters in here had him leading our team after 30 games?
- Ross77

He has shown improvement in work ethic and commitment to playing a team game. There is still room for growth. It would be nice if he didn't lose the puck everytime he enters the offensive zone on his own. SKATE DUDE !

Ya he is so old and has never had assists before in his career lmao
- Ross77

Well up until this season he's had 74 assists in 237 games played. For an average of .312 assists per game.

Rick Nash over the same period in his career had 61 assists in 208 games. For an average of .293 assists per game.

Mind you that Laine has played with better players than Nash did and theoretically should have more assists.

Never has anyone said that Laine is a bad player, just that he's not generational. I stand by my assessment that he is the modern day version of Rick Nash. We will assess his numbers further at the end of this season.

Lowry !!!!
- bennythehat

First goal in 10 games. That's exactly what one would expect from a solid fourth line center!

First goal in 10 games. That's exactly what one would expect from a solid fourth line center!
- TheUltimateJet

What Lowry now only 5 goals behind the generational scorer,- (and more game-winning goals?), and little power play time or 1st line duty. Pretty good 3rd line Centre. Not a team in the league that wouldn't want Lowry!

So we're back to discussing Connor-Laine are we? Do you think that Connor might get off easier when he makes a mistake than Laine because Connor puts in 100% effort on every poop and actually wins puck battles? That being said, Patrik, to his credit, has been a lot better this season and I hope the he continues to improve.

In my opinion the Jets season turned around when Wheeler was inserted as second line centre. The Connor-Scheifele-Laine, and Ehlers-Wheeler-Roslovic gives us two pretty decent scoring lines, which a lot of teams don't have.

The we have the checking line of Perreault-Lowry-Copp which does a decent job against the other top lines. The fourth line? Know they don't grow on trees but would like to see some competent tough guy (like Ryan Reaves) on there, the Jets lack toughness.

The "d" has been a major surprise. Neal Pionk has surprised almost everyone, and Poolman has shown he can play in the NHL. Sbisa has been a great pick-up and even Bitetto has played better lately. Morrissey is Morrissey.

The season suddenly looks a lot rosier - everyone happy with Helle?

He has shown improvement in work ethic and commitment to playing a team game. There is still room for growth. It would be nice if he didn't lose the puck everytime he enters the offensive zone on his own. SKATE DUDE !
- bennythehat

He is learning from Wheeler, what did you expect?

First goal in 10 games. That's exactly what one would expect from a solid fourth line center!
- TheUltimateJet

And you wanted to trade him for Bowey who is soooooo bad the worst team in the league just put him on waivers 😅

And you wanted to trade him for Bowey who is soooooo bad the worst team in the league just put him on waivers 😅
- Ross77

Bowey would be an excellent waiver wire pick-up. He would fit in great with Shore, Sbisa, Biteto and yes Lowry!

edit: forgot to mention Dahlstrom.

We picked up Sbisa and Dahlstrom from Anaheim and Chicago respectively, and both teams are in 25th and 26th place in the league. Don't see Bowey being much worse than those guys.

Essentially do not understand the point you are trying to make.

Forgot to add the picture of him and Morrissey after they won the gold medal together playing as a pair for team Canada.



They also won a Memorial Cup together when they were with Kelowna.

What Lowry now only 5 goals behind the generational scorer,- (and more game-winning goals?), and little power play time or 1st line duty. Pretty good 3rd line Centre. Not a team in the league that wouldn't want Lowry!

So we're back to discussing Connor-Laine are we? Do you think that Connor might get off easier when he makes a mistake than Laine because Connor puts in 100% effort on every poop and actually wins puck battles? That being said, Patrik, to his credit, has been a lot better this season and I hope the he continues to improve.

In my opinion the Jets season turned around when Wheeler was inserted as second line centre. The Connor-Scheifele-Laine, and Ehlers-Wheeler-Roslovic gives us two pretty decent scoring lines, which a lot of teams don't have.

The we have the checking line of Perreault-Lowry-Copp which does a decent job against the other top lines. The fourth line? Know they don't grow on trees but would like to see some competent tough guy (like Ryan Reaves) on there, the Jets lack toughness.

The "d" has been a major surprise. Neal Pionk has surprised almost everyone, and Poolman has shown he can play in the NHL. Sbisa has been a great pick-up and even Bitetto has played better lately. Morrissey is Morrissey.

The season suddenly looks a lot rosier - everyone happy with Helle?
- grahamzky

Thanks for being the voice of reason grahamsky. I would add that the Little injury may be serving as a galvanizing moment for the team. A respected and hard working teammate goes down with a serious injury and the team rallies.

2019 so far has had a disappointing playoff run, big off-season changes on D, team at a cross-road, Laine's work ethic and team game being scrutinized, coach on the hot-seat, widely panned Trouba for Pionk trade, Buff stays home, some doubt about Hellebuyck, bad start for Wheeler, career threatening injury to Little, most fans skeptical about something. It's 23 guys in a fox-hole taking on the world and doing pretty well.

Go-jets-go!

First goal in 10 games. That's exactly what one would expect from a solid fourth line center!
- TheUltimateJet

Exactly and his first goal of the season that he actually shot past a goalie!... Lol

How anyone can think he's more then a 4th line player I'll never understand.