NHL announces finalists for Jack Adams Award
The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the NHL coach that is adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. The winner is selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association at the end of the regular season.
The NHL announced its three finalists this morning:
Andrew Brunette of the Florida Panthers was promoted to interim head coach on Oct. 29, 2021, and led his team to the first Presidents' Trophy in franchise history. Florida finished with a record of 58-18-6 for 122 points and set a slew of team records, including total wins with 58, home wins with 34, road wins 24, points 122, goals for 340, points percentage .744 and shots per game 37.3.
Gerard Gallant of the New York Rangers guided his team to a record of 52-24-6 and 110 points. The team's 7th overall in the standing was the third-best finish in its past 25 seasons. The Rangers' defense ranked second in the NHL at 2.49 goals-against per game, holding the opposition to two goals or fewer in 45 games, including nine shutouts. The Rangers' power play also ranked fourth in the NHL at 25.2%. Gallant is a Jack Adams finalist for the third time, with his third different club, winning the award in 2018 with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames propelled his club to the largest improvement by any team in the NHL from last season. The Flames missed the playoffs in 2020-21 with a record of 26-27-3 but stormed to a Pacific Division title with the league's sixth-best record of 50-21-11 and 111 points. They climbed from 19th to 6th in goals-per-game (2.77 to 3.55) and 16th to 3rd in goals-against per contest (2.86 to 2.51). Sutter is a finalist for the second time, coming 18 years after his third-place finish in 2003-04 during his first tenure with Calgary.
MY PICK: Darryl Sutter. For what the award is based on and what it represents, the stats for the Calgary Flames speak for themselves. Sutter's coaching style propelled the Flames to a high-scoring, defensive juggernaut with basically the same roster as last season.
The last Boston Bruins coach to win the Jack Adams was Bruce Cassidy just two years ago for the 2019-20 NHL season. He also finished second in 2017-18. Claude Julien also won the award in 2008-09.
