Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Your Jack Adams Award Finalists

04/25/2018 at 7:37pm EDT

NEW YORK (April 25, 2018)Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche, Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruinsand Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights are the three finalists for the 2017-18 Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association submitted ballots for the Jack Adams Award at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 20, during the 2018 NHL Awards™ presented by Hulu at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Following are the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, in alphabetical order:

Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche

Bednar guided a rookie-laden Avalanche (43-30-9, 95 points) to among the most dramatic single-season improvements in NHL history. Colorado posted a 47-point increase over 2016-17, tied for the fourth-highest year-to-year gain, in qualifying for their first postseason appearance since 2013-14. The club went 28-11-2 on home ice, matching its franchise record of 28 home wins set by the 2000-01 Stanley Cup team. The Avalanchedressed 11 rookies, tied for the League lead, and the rookie group combined for an NHL-high 419 games. The team’s 255 goals scored (excluding shootouts) was its most since 2006-07 and a 55% increase over the 165 from 2016-17. Bednar is a first-time Jack Adams Award finalist and in quest of the third such honor in franchise history following Patrick Roy (2013-14) and Marc Crawford (1994-95, Quebec Nordiques).

Bruce Cassidy, Boston Bruins

In his first full season behind the Boston bench as head coach, Cassidy led the Bruins (50-20-12, 112 points) to a fourth-place finish in the NHL’s overall standings and the club’s fourth-highest point total in the past 40 years. The Bruins registered a 13-game road point streak from Dec. 13 – Feb. 11 (11-0-2), the fifth-longest such run in franchise history. They finished the season 22-12-7 away from home, third in the League behind the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning. Bruins rookies tallied 58 goals in 2017-18, the most by any NHL club and representing 22% of the team’s total. A first-time finalist, Cassidy is vying to become the fourth Bruins coach to capture Jack Adams honors, following Don Cherry (1975-76), Pat Burns (1997-98) and Claude Julien (2008-09).

Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights

Gallant led the Golden Knights (51-24-7, 109 points) to a slew of historic achievements in 2017-18, with Vegas becoming the first modern-era expansion team from any of the four North American professional sports leagues to start from scratch and win its division. The Golden Knights started the season 8-1-0, using four goaltenders within their first 10 games following a spate of injuries. They went on to post their 34th victory on Feb. 1 to set the NHL record for wins by a team in its inaugural season – with 32 games remaining. Eleven Golden Knights players recorded career-best point totals, most notably William Karlsson, who posted 43-35—78 after a 6-19—25 campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016-17. Gallant is a Jack Adams Award finalist for the second time, having finished second in voting in 2015-16 with the Florida Panthers.

History

The award was presented by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association in 1974 in honor of the late Jack Adams, longtime coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.

Announcement Schedule

The three finalists for NHL Trophies are being announced by NBC Sports in the United States and Sportsnet/TVA Sports in Canada during pregame programming for the Stanley Cup Playoffs through Monday, April 30. The series of announcements continues on Thursday, April 26, when the National Hockey League Players’ Association reveals the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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