Posted by Skip Coopersmith
NASHVILLE (June 26, 2023) – Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins is the 2022-23 recipient of the Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.
A Jack Adams finalist for the first time, Montgomery is the fifth Bruins bench boss to capture the award, joining Don Cherry (1975-76), Pat Burns (1997-98), Claude Julien (2008-09) and Bruce Cassidy (2019-20).
Montgomery was a near-unanimous choice, attracting the first-place vote on 79 of the 82 ballots and the second-place selection on the three other ballots for 404 voting points. Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils, who was named on 53 ballots in accumulating 127 points, finished second in the voting, followed by Dave Hakstol of the Seattle Kraken (73 points).
In his first season behind the bench for the Bruins (65-12-5, 135 points), Montgomery oversaw a Presidents’ Trophy-winning campaign that rewrote the NHL record book. Perched atop the Atlantic Division from start to finish – just the fourth team in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead wire-to-wire – the Bruins set NHL records for most wins (65) and points (135), including a League-record 14-game home winning streak from the start of a season (Oct. 15 to Dec. 3) and the unprecedented feat of five winning streaks of 7+ games in a season. Boston had a +128 goal differential (including shootout-deciding goals), the highest by any club since 1995-96 (Detroit, +144).
For more on the Jack Adams Award, including a list of past winners, click here.
COURTESY NHLmedia.com
