NHL Public Relations June 11, 2021 NEW YORK (June 11, 2021) – Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes, Dean Evason of the Minnesota Wild and Joel Quenneville of the Florida Panthers are the three finalists for the 2020‑21 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 2021 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone will be revealed during the Stanley Cup Semifinals 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: Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes Brind’Amour led Carolina (36-12-8, franchise-record .714 pts. pct.) to the Discover NHL Central Division title, the team’s first division crown since its Stanley Cup-winning season of 2005-06, and third place in the overall NHL standings. The Hurricanes have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of Brind’Amour’s three seasons behind the bench, marking the franchise’s first three-year postseason streak since moving to Carolina in 1997-98. The Hurricanes excelled on special teams, being the only NHL club to rank top-three both on the power-play (2nd, 25.6%) and while shorthanded (3rd, 85.2%). Brind’Amour is the first Hurricanes finalist for the Jack Adams Award since 2005-06 (Peter Laviolette, 2nd) and is vying to become the first winner in franchise history. Brind’Amour won two individual NHL Awards in his 1,484-game playing career, capturing the Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild Evason guided the Wild to their best regular-season points percentage in franchise history (.670, 35-16-5) in his first full season as an NHL head coach, ranking third in the Honda NHL West Division behind Colorado and Vegas, the teams ranked 1-2 in the League’s overall standings. Evason’s Wild also were the highest-scoring team in franchise history with a goals-per-game figure of 3.21, backed by breakout offensive seasons from a quartet of 24-year-olds: rookie goal-scoring leader and Calder Trophy finalist Kirill Kaprizov (27 goals), Kevin Fiala (20 goals), Joel Eriksson-Ek (19 goals) and Jordan Greenway (26 assists). Minnesota recorded standings points in 14 of 15 games from April 10 to May 8 (11-1-3), including a season-long seven-game win streak in that span, as the team clinched a berth in the postseason for the eighth time in nine seasons. Evason is the second Jack Adams finalist in franchise history, following the win by Jacques Lemaire in 2002-03. Joel Quenneville, Florida Panthers Like Evason, his longtime teammate with the Hartford Whalers in the 1980s, Quenneville directed a club that set franchise records for both highest points percentage (.705, 37-14-5) and most goals-per-game (3.36). In fact, the Panthers’ two highest-scoring teams in franchise history (on a GF/GP basis) are the two teams in Quenneville’s reign to date. The team started 6-0-2 out of the gate and rallied following the season-ending injury to captain Aaron Ekblad, finishing with wins in 15 of 21 (15-5-1) to climb to second in the Discover NHL Central Division. Second on the all-time list for regular-season coaching wins with 962, Quenneville is a Jack Adams Award finalist for the third time and with his third club over his 24 seasons as an NHL head coach; he captured the trophy with the St. Louis Blues in 1999-2000 and finished second with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. He is aiming to become the Panthers’ first Jack Adams Award winner, following second-place finishes by Doug MacLean in 1995-96 and Gerard Gallant in 2015-16. 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. ### (6/11/21) |
