Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter LXXIX: 152-149

152. Dave Lowry

Lowry was a 6'1", 195 lb. skater from Sudbury, Ontario. Born on Valentine's Day, 1965, he was a a left winger with the OHL’s London Knights in 1982-83 (42 games, 11 goals, 16 assists, 48 PiM). After his first season, he became the sixth round selection of the Vancouver Canucks in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, 114th overall.

Lowry spent another two seasons with the Knights (127 games, 89 goals, 107 assists, 219 PiM) before turning professional. He joined the Canucks without having appeared in Vancouver’s minor league system, ultimately playing three seasons with the club (165 games, 19 goals, 21 assists, 357 PiM). He later played with the AHL’s Fredericton Express (46 games, 18 goals, 27 assists, 59 PiM), the IHL’s Peoria Rivermen (58 games, 31 goals, 35 assists, 45 PiM), the St. Louis Blues (311 games, 53 goals, 51 assists, 432 PiM), the Florida Panthers (272 games, 50 goals, 60 assists, 178 PiM), and the San Jose Sharks (143 games, 11 goals, 17 assists, 93 PiM).

Lowry signed a free agent contract to become a Flame during the 2000 offseason. His first season with the club would be his best, with a team second 79 games played. He averaged 15:57 per game, mostly as part of Calgary’s second line. He scored a team-fifth 18 goals on 108 shots with a team eighth 17 assists, a minus-2 rating, and 47 penalty minutes. He had six multi-point games on the season, and a team leading five game winning goals. On January 5th, he scored two goals with an assist in a 4-4 tie with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Just six days later, he scored the game winner as the Flames eked out a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators. Calgary finished outside the playoff picture with a 27-36-15-4 record.

2001-02 would see Lowry play 14:58 per game, appearing 62 time for Calgary. He totaled seven markers on 74 shots, with six assists, a team second worst minus-20 rating, and 51 penalty minutes. On October 22nd, he helped the Flames reach 7-1-0-1 with the power play game winner in a 3-2 win against the Blues. On November 3rd, he dished out an assist and scored a short handed goal in a 6-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens. After starting out the season 13-2-4-2. the Flames posted a 19-33-8-1 record the rest of the way to finish the year at 32-35-12-3.

In 2002-03, Lowry played in 34 games, averaging 14:18 per appearance as the Flames stumbled to a 29-36-13-4 record. He scored five times on 40 shots, ranking eighth on the team with 14 assists. He was one off the team pace with a plus-4 rating, and also earned 22 penalty minutes. On January 20th, in a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers, he scored a goal and two assists. He repeated the feat on March 18th in a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, and dished out three assists in the season ending 4-1 win against the Oilers. He also played in 22 games for the AHL’s Saint John Flames, scoring three goals with six assists.

Lowry would play in his final professional season for Calgary in 2003-04. He played 9:13 per game, scoring one goal on nine shots with one assist in 18 contests. He earned 11 penalty minutes and a minus-6 rating as the Flames posted a 42-30-7-3 record and made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final. Lowry appeared in 10 postseason games for the Flames, but only impacted the scoresheet with six penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating.

After retiring, Lowry went into coaching, first with the Calgary Hitmen as an assistant, an associate, then finally as a head coach in 2008. He is currently the bench boss for the Victoria Cougars.

All-Time Statline: 193 games, 31 goals, 38 assists, minus-24 rating, 131 penalty minutes, 5.31 point shares.

151. Brendan Morrison

Born on August 15th, 1975, Morrison is a 5'11", 176 lb. center from Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. The New Jersey Devils chose him in the second round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, 39th overall.

Morrison chose to put off turning professional for the next four years, joining the University of Michigan Wolverines. He lit the lamp 102 times with 182 helpers in 155 games. His 284 career points while with the Wolverines rank him as the all-time leader with the team. He led UM to the NCAA title in 1996, earning the tournament MVP. He subsequently won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s player of the year the following season.

Despite Morrison’s level of success, he spent most of his first season with the AHL’s Albany River Rats (72 games, 35 goals, 49 assists), also making his NHL debut with the Devils (11 games, five goals, four assists).

After 44 more games with the Devils (five goals, 21 assists) in 1999-00, Morrison would appear with Pardubice HC (Czech, six games, five goals, two assists), the Vancouver Canucks (543 games, 136 goals, 257 assists), Linkopings HC (Sweden, 45 games, 16 goals, 28 assists), the Anaheim Ducks (62 games, 10 goals, 12 assists), the Dallas Stars (19 games, six goals, three assists), and the Washington Capitals (74 games, 12 goals, 30 assists).

At 35 years of age, Morrison signed with the Flames through free agency during the 2010 preseason. In 66 games for Calgary, he scored nine times on 89 shots, along with a team fifth 34 assists. He also ranked fifth on the club with 43 points. His plus-13 rating was second only to Anton Babchuk’s plus-18 mark. Despite playing 16:42 per game, he earned only 16 penalty minutes, leading the team in time on ice/time in box. Calgary went 41-29-12, but missed the playoffs despite their above average finish. Morrison had nine games where he finished with more than one point, including January 21st, when he contributed an assist and pitched in the game winner in a 7-4 win against the Stars. On February 5th, he assisted all three of Calgary’s goals in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He contributed three more assists on March 1st, in a 6-0 rout of the St. Louis Blues.

Morrison played 13:45 per game over 28 contests for the Flames in 2011-12. He scored four times on 33 shots with seven assists, a minus-1 rating, and six penalty minutes. On December 6th, he put up his best numbers while with the Flames, with an assist in the first, a goal in the second, and one of each in the third period of a 7-6 Flames win over the Carolina Hurricanes. On January 7th, 2012, the Flames traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brian Connelly.
Morrison went scoreless in 11 games for the Blackhawks, bringing his playing career to a close.

All-Time Statline: 94 games, 13 goals, 41 assists, plus-12 rating, 22 penalty minutes, 5.47 point shares.

150. Tony Amonte

Amonte was a 6', 200 lb. right winger from Hingham, Massachusetts. Born on August 2nd, 1970, he was selected by the New York Rangers in 1988's NHL Entry Draft, 68th overall. He played two seasons of college hockey after his number was called, scoring 56 goals and 70 assists in 56 games with Boston University.

Before making his way to the Flames following the 2004-05 stoppage, Amonte played with the Rangers (234 games, 84 goals, 99 assists), the Chicago Blackhawks (627 games, 268 goals, 273 assists), Fassa HC (Italy, 14 games, 22 goals, 16 assists), the Phoenix Coyotes (59 games, 13 goals, 23 assists), and the Philadelphia Flyers (93 games, 27 goals, 41 assists).

Amonte signed with the Flames through free agency after the end of the lockout, on August 2nd, 2005. In 2005-06, he ranked fifth on the team with 80 games played. He skated for 17:07 per appearance, with a team sixth best 14 goals on 155 shots and a team fourth best 28 assists. He finished with a plus-3 rating and 43 penalty minutes. On October 10th, he scored two goals in a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, one of seven multi-point contests for him through the season. The Flames posted a 46-25-11 record, earning a spot in the playoffs. Amonte scored twice with an assist in seven playoff contests as the Flames were eliminated by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games.

In 2006-07, Amonte was one of five Flames to share the team lead with 81 games played. He ranked seventh on the team with 10 goals on 139 shots, with a team eighth 20 assists, a team worst minus-4 rating, and 40 penalty minutes. He recorded multiple points on eight nights, including on December 16th, when he scored a goal with two assists in a win over the Coyotes, 6-3. The Flames finished the season with a 43-29-10 record, but were eliminated in six games of the opening round by the Detroit Red Wings. Amonte totaled an assist in six games.

Amonte’s career was in the books after the completion of the season. He is ranked 11th on the all-time list of American born players, with 900 points. He is currently the head coach at Thayer University.

All-Time Statline: 161 games, 24 goals, 48 assists, minus-1 rating, 83 penalty minutes, 5.49 point shares.

149. Richard Kromm

Kromm was born on March 29th, 1964 in Trail, British Columbia. He grew into a 5'11", 180 lb. left winger with the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks in 1981-82, when he scored 16 times with 38 assists in 60 contests. The Flames chose him in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft with the 37th overall pick.

Kromm played two more seasons with Portland, scoring 45 more goals and 72 more assists in 82 contests. After playing 10 games with the Winter Hawks into the 1983-84 season, he joined the Flames for the balance of the season.

In 53 games with Calgary, he ranked 10th on the team with 11 goals on 66 shots, with a dozen assists, a team second best plus-14 rating, and 27 penalty minutes. Although not a factor on special teams, he did manage to rank third on the club with three game winning goals. Calgary’s 34-32-12 record got them into the playoffs, where they eliminated the Vancouver Canucks three-games-to-one before bowing out to the Edmonton Oilers in seven. Kromm appeared in each contest through the postseason, scoring one goal and one assist while compiling a team worst minus-12 rating.

In 1984-85, Kromm ranked eighth on the club with 73 appearances, seventh with 20 goals on 140 shots, 32 assists and 52 points, fifth with a plus-19 rating, and 32 penalty minutes. He scored two game winners. Calgary finished third in the Smythe Division at 41-27-12, but couldn’t fight their way out of the first round of the playoffs, losing three-games-to-one to the Winnipeg Jets. Kromm earned an assist in three games.

1985-86 would see Kromm score 12 times on 97 shots with 17 assists in 63 games. He posted a plus-9 rating and earned 31 minutes in the penalty box, with two game winning goals to his credit. Calgary parted ways with Kromm on March 11th, trading him to the New York Islanders with Steve Konroyd for John Tonelli.

Kromm played in parts of seven seasons with the Islanders (183 games, 27 goals, 42 assists), spending most of his time with the Islanders AHL affiliates, the Springfield Indians (57 games, 24 goals, 30 assists) and the Capital District Islanders (234 games, 55 goals, 119 assists).

All-Time Statline: 189 games, 43 goals, 61 assists, plus-42 rating, 90 penalty minutes, 5.50 point shares.