Jack Adams Finalists

Wow. It’s been an incredible year to watch hockey. Teams from last year that are now some front runners coming into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, and Dallas Stars to just name a few. The biggest reason for each of these teams may have to be the coaches. Let’s take a look at my three finalists for the Jack Adams Award.

Gerard Gallant - Florida Panthers

Look at what this guy has done with the team he has. Given a ton of young talent (Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov, Johnny Huberdeau, etc.) mixed with some veteran talent (Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Roberto Luongo, etc.) and this team found a way to storm its way through its opponents and take first place in the Atlantic Division.

A year ago, after missing the playoffs, no one would have predicted this team to win their division, let alone make the playoffs. Now look at them. Atlantic Division Champs and likely facing the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

Will Gallant be able to keep this up next year? Will he be able to improve on this next year or will we see the Florida Panthers we all have come to know and love? Only time will tell.

Bruce Boudreau - Anaheim Ducks

You might wonder why I’m putting this guy on here. Before you question me, consider what he was able to do after the first month of the season.

After one of the worst starts in the league (1-7-2) after a month, they slowly started to creep up the standings. Fast forward to the end of March. This became a team fighting for a Pacific Division championship. Now sitting in second place in their division (44-25-11) and a solid spot in the playoffs, this team can be a team to make a deep playoff run.

Bruce Boudreau has been able to turn this team around and make them a formidable threat to almost any team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to not see this team fighting for the cup come June.

And then there’s...

Mike Sullivan - Pittsburgh Penguins

Look at what Mike Sullivan has been able to do with this team. After a bad and disappointing start under Mike Johnston, GMJR went out and hired on Sullivan. And what a ride it’s been since then.

After a slow start, losing his first four games at the helm, this guy has turned this team around much like the aforementioned Bruce Boudreau. Two winning streaks of at least 6 games in the last month and riding a current 8 (hopefully soon to be 9 game) winning streak. This team appears to be the hottest team in the league and is primed to make a deep playoff run even without a few key pieces like Malkin, Maatta, and Fleury.

This team has been able to produce without their key players and are showing they are a force to be reckoned with. Just look at the Rangers tanking so they don’t have to play the Pens in the first round of the playoffs. This is the team that is telling everyone else to “Bring it on!” at this point. The hottest team in the league is ready to party hard!

Sullivan deserves a real chance at the Jack Adams for what he’s been able to do. Let’s hope the NHL doesn’t forget to look at this Penguin this time.