Just over two years ago, Spencer Carbery completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, he has received the NHL’s top coaching honor.

The Washington Capitals bench boss was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy on Saturday, as selected by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. It was only fitting that Capitals broadcaster Joe Beninati surprised Carbery with the award during what Carbery believed was an interview about the end of the season, only to reveal the honor in front of his family.

In his first season as an NHL head coach, Carbery led the Capitals to a 51-22-9 record and the top spot in the Eastern Conference – a surprising feat given the significant buzz around Alex Ovechkin’s chase to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record could have shifted the club's focus away from winning. In his inaugural season with the Capitals in 2023-24, Carbery also helped the club secure a wild-card playoff spot, defying pundits who had predicted the team would finish outside the playoffs at the start of the year.

Carbery spent two seasons with the Maple Leafs under Sheldon Keefe as an assistant coach from 2021-2023. During those two seasons, he guided the club's power play to first and second-overall finishes in the regular season.

Maple Leafs Assistant Spencer Carbery Named New Head Coach of the Washington Capitals Carbery ran Toronto's offense and special teams during his two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toward the end of the 2022-23 season, Keefe, when asked about Carbery, expressed that it was only a matter of time before his assistant would become an NHL head coach. Carbery joined the Capitals in that role just months later.

Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery Perfectly Describes What Is Different About The Craig Berube-Led Maple Leafs Carbery spend two seasons as an assistant coach with the Leafs.,

Carbery is now the first individual to serve as a Maple Leafs assistant coach and subsequently win the Jack Adams Award with another NHL franchise. Paul MacLean, for instance, won the Jack Adams with the Ottawa Senators before joining the Leafs later in his career as an assistant and advisor from 2020-22.

Maple Leafs' Sheldon Keefe Reveals Why he was Initially Hesitant to Hire Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery as an Assistant Carbery served as an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs for two seasons before being hired by the Capitals this past summer.

Pat Burns remains the only individual to win the Jack Adams Award specifically as a Maple Leafs head coach, claiming the top honor following the 1992-93 season. Additionally, a couple of former Maple Leafs players went on to win the coaching award later in their hockey careers. Bruce Boudreau earned the Jack Adams with the Capitals after spending eight years as a player in Toronto. Similarly, Joel Quenneville won the Jack Adams Award in 1999-2000 with the St. Louis Blues following two years as a player for Toronto.

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Spencer Carbery Makes History As First Ex-Maple Leafs Assistant To Win Jack Adams Award