There are compelling arguments for each of the three finalists to win the NHL's Jack Adams Award, but it'd be unfair not to give credit to other contenders, says Adam Proteau.
The NHL on Friday announced the finalists for this year’s Jack Adams Award. Winnipeg’s Rick Bowness, Nashville’s Andrew Brunette and Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet are the top three for the best coach in the league this season.
Certainly, you can make a compelling argument for all of the aforementioned bench bosses. Bowness led a powerful (in the regular season, at least) Jets squad. Brunette worked wonders in his first year running the Predators. And Tocchet was the guy behind a high-octane Canucks lineup.
But it seems unfair not to mention these Jack Adams contenders, who some might say were snubbed by the announcement of the three finalists.
With that in mind, here are four coaches who weren’t nominated for the Adams but who we feel deserve some mention for their work this season.
Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes
Year in and year out, Brind’Amour goes about his business and harnesses the Hurricanes’ stable of horses while making them one of the top teams in the game. Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes seem to be working on a contract extension, but if he went to the open market, there’d be a long lineup of teams prepared to pay him well and give him a chance to win a Stanley Cup.
Brind’Amour is not only a terrific X's-and-O's coach but also a passionate communicator. The Hurricanes players are never lacking for motivation, and that’s Brind’Amour’s main department.
If Carolina wins the Cup this season, Brind’Amour might just be able to command a record-breaking yearly salary from a team that isn’t the Hurricanes. The ball is still in the team’s court, but Brind’Amour has great leverage and the intent to remain with the Hurricanes, so things should be safe for him here.
Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals
Carbery guided a subpar Capitals team to a playoff appearance this spring. That achievement, in and of itself, should be seen as a great accomplishment by Carbery in his first year behind Washington’s bench.
Forget that the Capitals got swept by the New York Rangers in the first round – that’s to be expected against a phenomenal Rangers team that obviously was superior to Washington’s – and instead, be optimistic. Carbery knows what he’s doing, and now, it’s about Capitals management supplying him with the talent necessary to keep up with the big dogs in the Eastern Conference.
Some hockey observers we’ve spoken to think Carbery should’ve won the Jack Adams this season. This writer voted in THN.com’s poll of our writers and editors for Brunette to be the winner in this category, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t tip our hat to Carbery for a very strong rookie NHL coach’s season.
Carbery’s done well with what he had. When he gets more, he should move the Capitals up the pecking order of Eastern teams.
John Tortorella, Philadelphia Flyers
We felt obliged to mention Tortorella here, as for much of the season, he had the Flyers in a solid position in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.
Nobody outside of Philadelphia had the Flyers as a playoff team. Although it all fell apart late in the year and resulted in the Flyers missing the playoffs, Tortorella does deserve some credit for raising the competitive bar and establishing a winning-expectant culture in Philly’s dressing room.
We’ve said before we’re not big fans of some of Tortorella’s histrionics, but you have to give the man credit – he can squeeze more out of some of his players than many other coaches could.
Tortorella’s coaching circle of life always ends in him moving on after a certain period, and we think the same will happen in Philadelphia. His effectiveness could wane after two or three years, and the Flyers may relieve him of his duties when the team is entering its prime. It’s all pretty straightforward and predictable, right?
Tortorella probably won’t be coaching this team a few years from now, but for the moment, he’s looking good after a surprisingly great Flyers year. Credit where it’s due.
Peter Laviolette, New York Rangers
Sure, he had a team with a boatload of talent and a Vezina Trophy-worthy goaltender to lean on. Still, there’s something to be said for Laviolette driving the Rangers to the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team. That’s no minor feat, especially with the heightened pressure of being an Original Six team located in a media-heavy market.
Last season, the Rangers got bounced in the first round – but after hiring Laviolette to be their coach this season, the Blueshirts summarily disposed of the Capitals in Round 1 this spring. That’s a feather in Laviolette’s cap.
Laviolette’s veteran experience running teams in the post-season – he’s now the only person in NHL history to be the coach of six different teams in the playoffs – is part of what made him so desirable to Rangers GM Chris Drury. But it’s the fact he’s a Cup winner who’s also made two other appearances in the Cup final that makes teams drool at the prospect of employing him.
A proven winner at the NHL level since 2001, Laviolette has the chance to do something special with the Rangers in the current post-season, but he’s already had a great start to his career on Broadway.