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Finally that right handed center that Gainey had promised to us and no this isn’t Eric Lindros. Dowd is an excellent complement for the team and will bring more than just his checking skills, he’ll bring depth and stability in the team and I’m sure he’ll take his place in the Habs uniform.
35 years old and native of Brick, New Jersey, Jim Dowd took part this season in 55 matches with the Minnesota Wild and he collected four goals and 20 assists for a total of 24 points, 38 minutes of penalties and a +6 (very good for the Wild). He was the eighth choice of New Jersey in the 1987 draft and he have disputed in a total of 497 games thoughout his career, distributed between New Jersey, Vancouver, NY Islanders, Calgary, Edmonton and Minnesota. He has almost 200 points (198) and won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995. Interesting fact, he played in a playoff series with each team he has been to beside the NY Islanders where he has only evolved in 3 games.
“The acquisition of Jim Dowd gives us the opportunity to add experience and depth to our group of centremen”, said Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey. “Jim’s style of play and his characteristics as a player will be a good complement to our team and will help us in our efforts to secure a playoff spot. He was an important part of the growth of the Minnesota Wild over the past few seasons and has the attributes that we are looking for to continue our progression.”
In playoffs, this is the kind of player who makes the difference. In 51 playoff games, he has 6 goals and 10 assists. In addition to Dowd we already have the sparkplug, Steve Begin. The Colorado Avalanche have had that kind of players in years past. The New Jersey Devils have acquired recently Pascal Rheaume, while the Detroit Red Wings have their Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper. All these teams have had a ton of success in the playoffs the past few years, with the role players having no small part in that success. Now in Montreal we got Steve Begin and Jim Dowd without trading anyone off the big club. With Kovalev, Dowd, Begin and Langdon we’re now playoff material, thanks Bob!
