The next chapter in Dowd's career began on June 23, 2000, when the Minnesota Wild selected him during the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft. On March 4, 2004, after nearly four seasons with the Wild, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2004. After the season, Dowd became an unrestricted free agent and signed with Germany's Hamburg Freezers during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Following the lockout, on August 5, 2005, he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.