Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery and New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff have been named the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which is handed out annually to the NHL’s top coach.
The league announced the 2023 finalists for the award on Friday evening, just as Ruff’s Devils hit the ice to take on the Carolina Hurricanes for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.
The Jack Adams Award is presented to the NHL head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” Recently-fired Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter is the reigning winner of the honor, which is voted upon by the National Association of Broadcasters after the conclusion of each NHL regular season.
Hakstol, 54, led the Kraken to their first 100-point season and playoff berth just one year after they finished their inaugural campaign as a bottom-five team in the NHL. The Kraken have since defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Montgomery, 53, helped the Bruins collect an NHL-record 135 points and the Presidents’ Trophy after going 65–12–5 during the 2022–23 regular season. Like Hakstol, Montgomery is a first-time Jack Adams finalist; unlike Hakstol, Montgomery’s team lost in the first round of the postseason.
Ruff, 63, oversaw the Devils’ return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Devils finished the 2022–23 regular season with the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division (52–22–8) and finished just one point back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the division title.
Sutter beat out then-Florida Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette and New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant for the the Jack Adams Award last year. For his part, Ruff previously won the award in 2006 and has now been named a finalist four times.
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