The National Hockey League announced its final round of 2021 NHL Award finalists on Friday with the three candidates for the Jack Adams Award. The Jack Adams Award honor's "the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success," as selected by members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association.
The finalists for the 2021 Jack Adams Award are Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour, Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason and Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville
In his third season as head coach of the Hurricanes, Brind'Amour was able to lead his team to one the best finishes to a season in franchise history. Carolina was able to finish as the top team in the Central Division with a 36-12-8 record and 80 points in the standings. It was their first division title since the 2005-06 season, in which Brind'Amour was still a player and captained his team to a Stanley Cup title.
Since taking over as head coach of the Hurricanes in 2018, Brind'Amour has led his squad to three-straight playoff appearances. In the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Hurricanes managed to pull off a six-game series win over the Nashville Predators in Round 1. However, their run in the playoffs came to an end in Round 2 after a five-game series loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning.
Brind’Amour is looking to be the the first Hurricanes head coach to win the Jack Adams Award, and he's the first coach to be a finalist for the honor since Peter Laviolette in 2006.
During his playing career with the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and Hurricanes, Brind’Amour won two individual awards, capturing the Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward in 2006 and 2007.
In his first full season as head coach of the Wild, Evason helped his team bounce back from a disappointing finish in the Return To Play bubble in Edmonton with a 35-16-5 record and 75 points. Minnesota ended up finishing third in a stacked Pacific Division, clinching a playoff berth for the eighth time in nine seasons.
The Wild put up a great fight in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, nearly coming back from a 3-1 deficit in their series with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, the effort came up just short, as the Wild ended up losing the series in seven games.
Evason is the second head coach in Wild franchise history to be named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, joining Jacques Lemaire, who won the award in 2003.
As for Quenneville, the veteran head coach is up for the second Jack Adams Award of his career, and has been named a finalist for the third time with his third different club. The 62-year-old won his only Jack Adams Award back in 2000 while coaching with the Blues, and finished second in voting with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013.
In his second season as head coach in South Florida, Quenneville led the Panthers to a stellar 37-14-5 record and 79 points. While Florida finished just short of winning the Central Division, he Quenneville did lead his squad to a second place finish ahead of the Lightning and Predators.
However, the Panthers' run in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs would be short-lived after a six-game series loss to Tampa Bay in Round 1.
Quenneville is looking to be the first Panthers head coach to ever win the Jack Adams Award. He becomes the third head coach in franchise history to be named a finalist for the Jack Adams, joining Doug MacLean in 1996 and Gerard Gallant in 2016.
The winner of the Jack Adams Award will be announced as part of the 2021 NHL Awards starting Monday, June 14.
Other 2021 NHL Awards finalists:
- Vezina Trophy
- Ted Lindsay Award
- King Clancy Memorial Trophy
- Lady Byng Trophy
- Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy
- Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award
- Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
- James Norris Memorial Trophy
- Hart Memorial Trophy