May 19, 2022
NEW YORK (May 19, 2022) – Andrew Brunette of the Florida Panthers, Gerard Gallant of the New York Rangers and Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames are the three finalists for the 2021-22 Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success,” the National Hockey League announced today.
Members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association submitted ballots for the Jack Adams Award after the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winners of the 2022 NHL Awards will be revealed during the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final, with exact dates, format and times to be announced.
Following are the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, in alphabetical order:
Andrew Brunette, Florida Panthers
Brunette, who joined the Panthers coaching staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2019-20 season, was elevated to interim head coach on Oct. 29, 2021, and led the Panthers to the first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history as the NHL’s top regular-season team. Florida (58-18-6) set a slew of team records, including total wins (58), home wins (34), road wins (24), points (122), goals for (340), points percentage (.744) and shots per game (37.3). The catalyst to their Presidents’ Trophy run was a franchise-record 13-game win streak from March 29 – April 23, outscoring opponents by nearly two-to-one (64-33) in that span. Brunette is the third Panthers coach voted a Jack Adams finalist in the past seven years and is aiming to become the team’s first-ever winner, following second-place finishes by Doug MacLean in 1995-96 and Gallant in 2015-16, plus Joel Quenneville’s third-place ranking last season.
Gerard Gallant, New York Rangers
Gallant became just the second head coach in franchise history to win 50+ games in his first season. guiding the Rangers (52-24-6, 110 points) to their best record since capturing the Presidents’ Trophy in 2014-15. The team’s overall League position (7th overall) represented its third-best finish in the past 25 seasons. The Blueshirts’ team defense ranked second in the League at 2.49 goals-against per game, holding the opposition to two goals or fewer in 45 games including nine shutouts. The Rangers power play ranked fourth in the NHL at 25.2%, their best success rate with the man advantage in 42 years. Gallant has been voted a Jack Adams finalist for the third time, with his third different club. He finished second with Florida in 2015-16 and captured the award with Vegas in 2017-18. He looks to become the first Rangers coach in franchise history to receive Jack Adams honors.
Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames
Sutter returned to Calgary in 2021-22 for his second stint behind the bench and oversaw the biggest season-over-season improvement by any team in the League. The Flames, who missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020-21 (26-27-3, .491), stormed to the Pacific Division title with the NHL’s sixth-best record (50-21-11, .677). They climbed from 19th to 6th in goals-per-game (2.77 to 3.55) and improved from 16th to 3rd in goals-against per contest (2.86 to 2.51). Sutter is a Jack Adams Award finalist for the second time, coming 18 years after his third-place finish in 2003-04 during his first coaching tenure in Calgary. He aims to become the second winner in franchise history, following Bob Hartley’s victory in 2014-15, and would match the feat of his brother Brian Sutter, who won the award with the St. Louis Blues in 1990-91.
History
The award was presented by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association in 1974 in honor of the late Jack Adams, longtime coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.
Announcement Schedule
The series of announcements unveiling finalists for the 2022 NHL Awards concludes Friday, May 20, with the three finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
COURTESY NHLmedia.com
