Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes
Brind'Amour led Carolina (36-12-8, franchise-record .714 pts. pct.) to the Discover NHL Central Division title, the team's first division crown since its Stanley Cup-winning season of 2005-06, and third place in the overall NHL standings. The Hurricanes have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of Brind'Amour's three seasons behind the bench, marking the franchise's first three-year postseason streak since moving to Carolina in 1997-98. The Hurricanes excelled on special teams, being the only NHL club to rank top-three both on the power-play (2nd, 25.6%) and while shorthanded (3rd, 85.2%). Brind'Amour is the first Hurricanes finalist for the Jack Adams Award since 2005-06 (Peter Laviolette, 2nd) and is vying to become the first winner in franchise history. Brind'Amour won two individual NHL Awards in his 1,484-game playing career, capturing the Frank Selke Trophy as the League's top defensive forward in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild
Evason guided the Wild to their best regular-season points percentage in franchise history (.670, 35-16-5) in his first full season as an NHL head coach, ranking third in the Honda NHL West Division behind Colorado and Vegas, the teams ranked 1-2 in the League's overall standings. Evason's Wild also were the highest-scoring team in franchise history with a goals-per-game figure of 3.21, backed by breakout offensive seasons from a quartet of 24-year-olds: rookie goal-scoring leader and Calder Trophy finalist Kirill Kaprizov (27 goals), Kevin Fiala (20 goals), Joel Eriksson-Ek (19 goals) and Jordan Greenway (26 assists). Minnesota recorded standings points in 14 of 15 games from April 10 to May 8 (11-1-3), including a season-long seven-game win streak in that span, as the team clinched a berth in the postseason for the eighth time in nine seasons. Evason is the second Jack Adams finalist in franchise history, following the win by Jacques Lemaire in 2002-03.
Joel Quenneville, Florida Panthers
Like Evason, his longtime teammate with the Hartford Whalers in the 1980s, Quenneville directed a club that set franchise records for both highest points percentage (.705, 37-14-5) and most goals-per-game (3.36). In fact, the Panthers' two highest-scoring teams in franchise history (on a GF/GP basis) are the two teams in Quenneville's reign to date. The team started 6-0-2 out of the gate and rallied following the season-ending injury to captain Aaron Ekblad, finishing with wins in 15 of 21 (15-5-1) to climb to second in the Discover NHL Central Division. Second on the all-time list for regular-season coaching wins with 962, Quenneville is a Jack Adams Award finalist for the third time and with his third club over his 24 seasons as an NHL head coach; he captured the trophy with the St. Louis Blues in 1999-2000 and finished second with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. He is aiming to become the Panthers' first Jack Adams Award winner, following second-place finishes by Doug MacLean in 1995-96 and Gerard Gallant in 2015-16.
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.
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