Chicago – Jim Dowd did not have to travel very far to get to his new team, the Avalanche. He simply had to walk down the hall.
The Avs acquired the veteran center this afternoon from the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado’s opponent tonight.
As expected, the Avs added a forward prior to today’s expiration of the NHL trade deadline, one day after trading David Aebischer to Montreal for Jose Theodore.
In Dowd, Colorado is getting a forward who has played on a championship team (New Jersey in 1995) with a lot of other playoff experience. In 60 games for the Blackhawks this season, the 37-year-old Dowd had three goals and 12 assists. He is known as a good defensive player and faceoff specialist – an area the Avs have been lacking in all season.
He played on the Minnesota Wild team that beat Colorado in the 2003 playoffs and has played for several other teams in his NHL career.
In 571 career games, Dowd has 60 goals and 158 assists. He is expected to play for Colorado tonight against his now former team.
Colorado gave up a fourth-round draft choice in this year’s draft for Dowd.
