New York, N.Y. (WFAN/WGR 550) - The National Hockey League announced the three finalists for the NHL’s Jack Adams Award on Thursday, presented annually “to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success."
The three finalists for the Jack Adams Award for the 2021-22 regular season are Florida Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette, New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant and Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter.
Brunette is a first-time finalist for the Jack Adams after taking over behind the Panthers' bench following the resignation of Joel Quenneville on Oct. 28. Despite taking over early in the 2021-22 season, Brunette helped guide the Panthers to franchise records in wins (58) and points (122), as well as the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the regular season.
This is the third time, with the third different team, Gallant has been a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. He was also a finalist in the 2015-16 season with the Panthers, while winning the award for the 2017-18 season with the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the sixth Rangers head coach to earn that nod – the last being Alain Vigneault during the 2014-15 campaign – and would be the first head coach in franchise history to actually win the award, if he does so.
Gallant, 58, led the Rangers to a 52-24-6 record in his first season at the helm, and the team has advanced to at least the Eastern Conference semifinals. That is a great improvement from 2020-21, where the team went 27-23-6 in a truncated, division-only season under David Quinn.
As for Sutter, he helped coach the Flames to a 50-21-11 record, which won them a Pacific Division title for the 2021-22 season. This is the second stint for Sutter as head coach of the Flames, with this being his first full season back with the franchise.
This is just the second time in his coaching career where Sutter has been named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. The last time was for the 2003-04 season when he helped Calgary to an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Last season's winner of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year was Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Related
The winner of the Jack Adams Award will be announced on June 2 during the Conference Final Round.
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