John Tortorella of the New York Rangers, Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues and Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators have been named the three finalists for the 2012 Jack Adams Award, which is handed out annually to the top coach in the NHL.
Jack Adams Award Finalists 2012: John Tortorella, Ken Hitchcock, Paul MacLean
John Tortorella, Paul MacLean and Ken Hitchcock are the three finalists for the 2012 Jack Adams Award, handed out to the NHL’s top coach.
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Members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association submitted ballots at the conclusion of the 2011-12 regular season, and the top three vote getters were named finalists. The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 20.
Tortorella became even more beloved -- or even more hated, depending on your perspective -- thanks to the Rangers' appearance on HBO 24/7. He led his club to the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and this nomination is Torts' third. He won the Jack Adams Award in 2004 when his Tampa Bay Lightning squad won the Stanley Cup.
Ken Hitchcock joined the Blues in early Nov. and led the club to a 109-point season and a second-place finish in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. The Blues bought into his defensive system and are a legitimate Stanley Cup threat in the 2012 playoffs as a result. Hitchcock finished second in Jack Adams voting twice in the past, most recently in 1999 with the Dallas Stars.
MacLean’s Senators finished eighth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season after many pundits predicted a finish near the bottom of the Conference. They qualified for the postseason against the odds, and most notably, the team jumped from 26th to fourth in offense as compared to 2010-11.
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