Ron Low

Lore & Background

Low grew up in Foxwarren, Manitoba. He played junior hockey with the Dauphin Kings, leading them to the Manitoba championship and Memorial Cup playoffs. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970, claimed by the Washington Capitals in the 1974 Expansion Draft, and later played for the Detroit Red Wings, Quebec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils. He was the first goalie to get a shutout for the Capitals. As a coach, he won the Stanley Cup as an assistant with the Oilers in 1987 and 1990.

In Their Own Story

The lights at the Spectrum hummed their low amber glow over the ice. Ron Low dropped his stick beside the bench, the rubber tapping a soft rhythm against the boards. Around him, the roar of the crowd was a wall of sound, but in that small pocket of the bench area it was just the creak of skates on the floor and the murmur of teammates. He pulled his gloves off one finger at a time, the way he always did, and watched the puck slide across the ice in the warm-up beyond the glass. No one was looking at him. That was fine. He'd been here before the name on the back of the jersey mattered, and he'd be here after it stopped. The Flyers were his. That was enough.

Reader's Guide

Ron Low was a goaltender, not a forward. He never played for the Philadelphia Flyers. His NHL career spanned 1972–1985 with the Maple Leafs, Capitals, Red Wings, Nordiques, Oilers, and Devils. He was head coach of the Oilers (1995–1999) and Rangers (2000–2002).

Did You Know?

• Ron Low was the first goaltender to record a shutout for the Washington Capitals, on February 16, 1975.
• He was mugged in downtown Calgary on March 17, 2010, and required surgery for organ damage.
• Low was an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers when they won the Stanley Cup in 1987 and 1990.