Jim Dowd

James Thomas "Jim" Dowd (born December 25, 1968, in Brick Township, New Jersey) is a retired professional hockey player for the NHL. He played for 10 different NHL teams. His high school hockey success and his 1995 Stanley Cup victory with the state's NHL team has made him a local hero in his home state amongst younger hockey players. Throughout an extensive NHL career, he has proven his ability to be a role player on teams with more skilled players. He is also a frequent guest on NHL Live.
== Early life, high school and college ==
As a junior, Dowd helped Brick Township High School capture the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ice hockey title for the 1985–1986 season. The only New Jersey native on the Devils, Dowd was drafted in the seventh round in 1987 out of Brick High School, but he went to Lake Superior State University, where he scored 91 goals and led the team to the national title in the 1987–88 season. In his senior year, he broke the national scholastic scoring record, finishing with a four year tally of 375 points: 189 Goals, 186 Assists. He was also named the CCHA's Player of the Year in 1991.
== Post-college and professional hockey==
=== New Jersey Devils and the Stanley Cup ===
After college, Jim Dowd joined the now-defunct Utica Devils (New Jersey's minor league affiliate) of the American Hockey League (AHL). He became the first New Jersey native to play for the New Jersey Devils when he made his NHL debut during the 1991–1992 season. He spent the 1991–92 season and the 1992–1993 season in the AHL, with single-game NHL appearances in both seasons. As a top scorer with the AHL's Albany River Rats (the Devils' new affiliate) in the 1993–1994 season, Dowd made impressive appearances with the Devils, collecting 5 goals and 10 assists in 15 regular season games, and 2 goals and 6 assists in 19 games during their playoff run. The labor dispute shortened the 1994–95 NHL season, which was further shortened for Dowd when a shoulder injury and surgery caused him to miss 35 games. However, the highlight of Dowd's career with the Devils came in Game Two of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. With 1:24 left in regulation, he notched the game-winning goal, giving the Devils a 2–0 series lead over the Detroit Red Wings to take back home to New Jersey. The Devils completed the sweep at home for their first Stanley Cup Championship, earning Dowd a treasured spot on the Stanley Cup.
=== Late 1990s ===
Less than six months after helping the Devils capture the Cup, Jim Dowd was traded with a 2nd round 1997 draft pick to the Hartford Whalers on December 19, 1995, for Jocelyn Lemieux and a 2nd round 1998 draft pick. Later that same day, Hartford traded Dowd with Frantisek Kucera and the 2nd round 1997 draft pick to the Vancouver Canucks for Jeff Brown and a 5th round 1998 draft pick. Dowd would only play 38 regular season games and one playoff game for the Canucks. On September 30, 1996, the New York Islanders claimed Dowd from the Canucks in the NHL Waiver Draft. He only played in three games for New York, spending the rest of the 1996–1997 season with the International Hockey League's (IHL) Utah Grizzlies and AHL's Saint John Flames. Dowd signed with the Calgary Flames on July 10, 1997, as a free agent. In the 1997–1998 season, he played in 48 games with the NHL Flames and another 35 regular season (and 19 playoff) games with the AHL Flames.
On June 27, 1998, Dowd was traded by Calgary to the expansion Nashville Predators for future considerations. For the second time in his career, he was traded before playing a single game, this time to the Edmonton Oilers with Mikhail Shtalenkov on October 1, 1998, for Éric Fichaud, Drake Berehowsky, and Greg de Vries. Dowd appeared in one game with the Oilers during the 1998–1999 season, spending the rest of the season with their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. As a group two free agent, he re-signed with Edmonton on September 7, 1999, and played the 1999–2000 season with the Oilers appearing in an NHL career high 69 games.
=== Recent NHL career ===
The next chapter in Jim Dowd's career began on June 23, 2000, when the Minnesota Wild selected him during the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft. A couple of weeks later, Jim's wife Lisa gave birth to their first child: James Thomas Dowd Jr., 8 lb. 10 oz., 21". After nearly four seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Dowd was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on March 4, 2004 for a 4th round 2004 draft pick. After the season, Dowd became an unrestricted free agent and signed with Germany's Hamburg Freezers during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Dowd was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks on August 5, 2005.
On March 9, 2006, Dowd was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a fourth round draft pick. His brief tenure with the Avalanche ended after the 2005–06 season, with Dowd again becoming a free agent.
On November 2, 2006, after left winger Dan LaCouture cleared waivers, the Devils signed Dowd to a one-year contract. The contract paid Dowd the NHL minimum of $450,000. "It's great. You should see the smile on my face," Dowd said via phone. "I've tried to come back every time I became a free agent. I'd call New Jersey, but the timing was never right." When Dowd returned to the Devils, he was forced to wear jersey #12, as John Madden wears #11.
He went on to score 4 goals as well as have his first career multi-goal game, which came against the Florida Panthers.
After the season ended with a loss to the Senators in the Second Round of the Playoffs, questions arose about the futures of such Devil's veterans as Dowd and Rasmussen. Jim Dowd had been scratched several times in favor of Rod Pelley, so he probably knew he would not be as welcome the following year. On September 11, Dowd announced that GM Lou Lamoriello and the Devils were uninterested in offering him a contract. He then mentioned that he would attend the Philadelphia Flyers Training Camp to try and make the Flyers. He has become a solid PK and defensive center for the Flyers, scoring his first goal with the Flyers against the Devils. However, he was released after the last game of the Flyers' 2008-09 preseason, along with Bryan Berard, to allow rookie development. (notably Danny Syvret and Darroll Power).
He retired on October 8, 2008.
==Career statistics==
  	  	  	 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	 	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1987–88 	Lake Superior State University	CCHA 	 	45 	18 	27 	45 	16 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1988–89 	Lake Superior State University	CCHA 	 	46 	24 	35 	59 	40 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1989–90 	Lake Superior State University	CCHA 	 	46 	25 	67 	92 	30 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1990–91 	Lake Superior State University	CCHA 	 	44 	24 	54 	78 	53 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1991–92 	Utica Devils 	AHL 	 	78 	17 	42 	59 	47 	 	4 	2 	2 	4 	4
1991–92 	New Jersey Devils 	NHL 	 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1992–93 	Utica Devils 	AHL 	 	78 	27 	45 	72 	62 	 	5 	1 	7 	8 	10
1992–93 	New Jersey Devils 	NHL 	 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1993–94 	Albany River Rats 	AHL 	 	58 	26 	37 	63 	76 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1993–94 	New Jersey Devils 	NHL 	 	15 	5 	10 	15 	0 	 	19 	2 	6 	8 	8
1994–95 	New Jersey Devils 	NHL 	 	10 	1 	4 	5 	0 	 	11 	2 	1 	3 	8
1995–96 	New Jersey Devils 	NHL 	 	28 	4 	9 	13 	17 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1995–96 	Vancouver Canucks 	NHL 	 	38 	1 	6 	7 	6 	 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
1996–97 	Utah Grizzlies 	IHL 	 	48 	10 	21 	31 	27 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1996–97 	Saint John Flames 	AHL 	 	24 	5 	11 	16 	18 	 	5 	1 	2 	3 	0
1996–97 	New York Islanders 	NHL 	 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1997–98 	Saint John Flames 	AHL 	 	35 	8 	30 	38 	20 	 	19 	3 	13 	16 	10
1997–98 	Calgary Flames 	NHL 	 	48 	6 	8 	14 	12 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1998–99 	Edmonton Oilers 	NHL 	 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1998–99 	Hamilton Bulldogs 	AHL 	 	51 	15 	29 	44 	82 	 	11 	3 	6 	9 	8
1999–2000 	Edmonton Oilers 	NHL 	 	69 	5 	18 	23 	45 	 	5 	2 	1 	3 	4
2000–01 	Minnesota Wild 	NHL 	 	68 	7 	22 	29 	80 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
2001–02 	Minnesota Wild 	NHL 	 	82 	13 	30 	43 	54 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
2002–03 	Minnesota Wild 	NHL 	 	78 	8 	17 	25 	31 	 	15 	0 	2 	2 	0
2003–04 	Minnesota Wild 	NHL 	 	55 	4 	20 	24 	38 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
2003–04 	Montreal Canadiens 	NHL 	 	14 	3 	2 	5 	6 	 	11 	0 	2 	2 	2
2004–05 	Hamburg Freezers 	DEL 	 	20 	4 	9 	13 	12 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
2005–06 	Chicago Blackhawks 	NHL 	 	60 	3 	12 	15 	38 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	-
2005–06 	Colorado Avalanche 	NHL 	 	18 	2 	1 	3 	2 	 	9 	2 	3 	5 	20
2006–07 	New Jersey Devils 	NHL 	 	66 	4 	4 	8 	20 	 	11 	0 	0 	0 	4
2007–08 	Philadelphia Flyers 	NHL 	 	73 	5 	5 	10 	41 	 	17 	1 	2 	3 	4
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals	 	728 	71 	168 	239 	390 	 	99 	9 	17 	26 	50
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
== External links ==
* Jim Dowd on NewJerseyDevils.com
* Jim Dowd on ESPN.com
* Jim Dowd on Yahoo! Sports
* Jim Dowd on NHLPA.com
* 
* Jim Dowd at databasehockey.com
Category:Born in 1968
Category:Albany River Rats players
Category:American ice hockey players
Category:Calgary Flames players
Category:Chicago Blackhawks players
Category:Colorado Avalanche players
Category:Edmonton Oilers players
Category:Hamburg Freezers players
Category:Hamilton Bulldogs players
Category:Lake Superior State Lakers players
Category:Minnesota Wild players
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:New Jersey Devils players
Category:Philadelphia Flyers players
Category:Saint John Flames players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Utah Grizzlies players
Category:Utica Devils players
Category:Vancouver Canucks players
Category:Retired in 2008