Head Coach Scott Arniel of the Winnipeg Jets (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

Arniel, Carbery, & St. Louis Named 2025 Jack Adams Award Finalists

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Christopher Babos | Last updated May 2, 2025 4:55 PM ET

The NHL announced its finalists for the 2025 Jack Adams Award on Thursday. The award is presented to the coach most vital to his team’s success for the 2024-25 regular season. The three finalists are Scott Arniel of the Winnipeg Jets, Spencer Carbery of the Washington Capitals, and Martin St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens.

Leaders behind the bench. #NHLAwards

Scott Arniel, Spencer Carbery, and Martin St. Louis have been named as finalists for the Jack Adams Award. The award is given annually “to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success." pic.twitter.com/2O4ghN6itj
— NHL (@NHL) May 2, 2025

The Jack Adams Award has been presented 40 times to 32 coaches since the conclusion of the 1973-74 season. The winner will be announced on June 27 at the 2025 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Scott Arniel

In his first season leading the Winnipeg Jets bench, Arniel guided his hockey club to a 56-win season, the best record in the NHL, and the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy. The 62-year-old head coach is in his third season in Winnipeg after spending two seasons under Rick Bowness, a 2024 Jack Adams Award finalist.

Head Coach Scott Arniel of the Winnipeg Jets (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

Arniel would be the first Jets head coach to claim the award since their return to the NHL in 2011. The former Jets franchise which moved to Phoenix and is now the Utah Hockey Club, had two coaches win Jack Adams while they were in Winnipeg: Bob Murdoch (1989-90) and Tom Watt (1981-82).

Spencer Carbery

In his second season in Washington, Carbery led the Capitals to a 51-22-9 record, which was the best mark in the Eastern Conference. While he had a front row seat to NHL history, Carbery had to navigate the Capitals through uncharted waters as Alex Ovechkin completed his quest to break the NHL’s all-time goal record.

Thank you, O #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/jvYLi0rcec
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 5, 2025

Carbery would become the fourth Capitals head coach to win the Jack Adams. Bryan Murray (1983-84), Bruce Boudreau (2007-08), and Barry Trotz (2015-16) are the prior recipients in Washington.

Martin St. Louis

Like Carbery did last season with the Capitals, St. Louis coached the Canadiens to an Eastern Conference wild-card spot and their first playoff berth since 2021. The 49-year-old head coach oversaw a young core that finished with a 40-31-11 record and juggled having to add a late-arriving Ivan Demidov into his lineup.

St. Louis would become the third Canadiens head coach to win the Jack Adams. Scotty Bowman (1976-77) and Pat Burns (1988-89) are the previous award winners in Montreal.