SNUBBED 

BY MIKE RIFKIN

On Friday the NHL announced the three finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year. The three finalists for the award are Rick Tocchet of the Canucks, Andrew Brunette of the Predators, and Rick Bowness of the Jets. Tocchet and Brunette are very deserving of their nominations, but Bowness is the one that makes me scratch my head. Not because Bowness is a bad coach, but because did Winnipeg exceed their expectations? They did tie their franchise record in wins (52), had the second most points in franchise history (110) and were fantastic defensively giving up the fewest goals in the league (199). Bowness did miss some games this year due to health concerns with himself and his family. Here are a few coaches I’d give the go ahead over Rick Bowness for the Jack Adams.

Kris Knoblauch – Oilers : After taking over for Jay Woodcroft and his 3-9-1 record. Knoblauch led the Oilers to a 46-18-5 record. The Oilers looked like a juggernaut at times during the regular season, and because you coach the best player on the planet overlooks the job the coach did. Knoblauch did a fantastic job.

John Tortorella – Flyers : When most experts talked about the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the season, they were talking about the draft lottery. Most of the Flyers’ season was spent in the third spot of the Metro and even though they collapsed down the stretch it doesn’t change the fact that Torts didn’t do a great job. I’ve been on team Torts for the award all season long and even though he’s not nominated I’d still vote for him. 

Peter Laviolette – Rangers : The Rangers bench boss helped the team win the President’s Trophy, for the first time since 2015. The last coach to win the President’s Trophy and not be nominated for the Jack Adams was Laviolette in 2018 with the Predators. The one decision that sticks for Laviolette was the decision to give Igor Shesterkin a mental rest after the All-Star Break and since Shesterkin has been fantastic.

I’ve seen other people put Spencer Carbery in this conversation, but to me these other three guys are a little more deserving after having the regular seasons that they led their respective teams to.