The NHL announced on Wednesday that Tampa Bay Lightning coach [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning] Jon Cooper had won the first Jack Adams Trophy of his career as the NHL’s top coach. In what was the closest race to the trophy ever, Cooper had 226 voting points, just three more than runner-up Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres]bench boss Lindy Ruff, who finished with 223. Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] coach Dan Muse was third with 199. Where does that leave Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens]’ coach Martin St-Louis? In fifth place with 50 points, 16 behind Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche] coach Jared Bednar, who had 66. The Habs’ coach had four first-place votes, seven second-place votes, and nine third-place votes. Comparatively, Cooper received 36 first-place votes, Ruff 26, and Muse 18. Canadiens’ Slafkovsky Wasn’t Injured [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-slafkovsky-wasn-t-injured] Canadiens’ Gallagher Wasn’t Disrespected [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-gallagher-wasn-t-disrespected] Canadiens: The Curious Case Of Kirby Dach – Part 2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-the-curious-case-of-kirby-dach-part-2] Given how much the Canadiens improved this season, it is surprising to see St-Louis finish fifth. Montreal went from a 16th-place finish and 91 points to a fifth-place finish with 106 points and being in the running for its division title. Of course, some would also argue that his team had quite a playoff run, but voting is held at the end of the regular season, before the playoffs begin. Still, St-Louis can at least say that he beat the league’s top two coaches on his way to the third round. From all the stats about this young Canadiens’ team, the most impressive is probably the fact that it went from giving 3.18 goals per game in 2024-25 to just 3.06 in 2025-26. From a team that struggled to play the defensive style its coach was advocating, the Canadiens became a team that has understood the assignment. That wasn’t easy, but St-Louis managed to teach his players how they needed to play on the other side of the puck. Of course, it’s not perfect yet, but it has gotten better. It wasn’t an easy year for the coach, who had to make some tough decisions as his team had progressed so much that a heart-and-soul veteran like Brendan Gallagher had to be a healthy scratch to make way for younger players better suited to St-Louis’ brand of hockey. As evidenced by the veteran media availability on Monday, he didn’t agree with the call, but given the speed at which the last two rounds were played, it’s hard to argue with the coach’s decision. Even if the playoffs didn’t count for this year’s vote, the experience St-Louis picked up in those seven weeks of postseason action will be invaluable going forward. In the first round, against Cooper, he showed he was able to juggle his lines with the best of them to help Nick Suzuki evade the matchup with Brandon Hagel. If he didn’t make adjustments in that first round, the Canadiens wouldn’t have overcome the Lightning. Of course, his lack of adjustments against the Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes] was part of why the Habs were eliminated, but he picked up some valuable experience there, too. When looking at St-Louis’ body of work, it’s hard not to mention just how much players like Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky have evolved under his tutelage. The coach has been in their shoes, and he’s seen it all. The way he can relate to every player and how well he communicates are big reasons he’s such a good pilot. The 50-year-old might have finished fifth in voting this time around, but if the Canadiens carry on their upwards trajectory, he’ll soon be able to add a Jack Adams Trophy to his already crowded mantelpiece, which already features two Art Ross trophies, one Hart, one Lester B. Pearson, and three Lady Bing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
