The NHL Trophy announcement for today is the Jack Adams Award which is the annual award presented by the National Hockey League Broadcasters' Association and is given to "the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The winner is selected in a poll among members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association at the end of the regular season.
The top three finalists this year includes Dan Bylsma from Pittsburgh, Barry Trotz from the Predators, and Alain Vigneault from Vancouver.
Others that were considered to be in the running in a wide open race included Guy Boucher of Tampa, Bruce Boudreau from Washington, Dave Tippett of Phoenix, John Tortorella from the Rangers, and Mike Babcock of Detroit.
Predator fans feel that Trotz was particularly deserving since he guided the Predators to 99 points and fifth place in the tough Western Conference in spite of injuries to key players including Matthew Lombardi, Marcel Goc, Steve Sullivan, and Francis Bouillon and heavy reliance on rookies Blake Geoffrion, Jon Blum, and Matt Halischuk during the final playoff push.
Here is a Q and A with Trotz from NHL.com discussing his nomination.
Earlier in the season before the blossom fell off their teams, Mark Crawford of Dallas, Craig Ramsay from Atlanta, and Scott Arniel from Columbus were thought to be in the running.
The final presentation to the winner will be made at the NHL Awards Show at the Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino and Resort on June 22.
Here is the the full release from the NHL...
BYLSMA, TROTZ AND VIGNEAULT NAMED JACK ADAMS AWARD FINALISTS
NEW YORK (April 29, 2011) -- Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks are the three finalists for the 2010-11 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 at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 22, during the 2011 NHL Awards from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas. The 2011 NHL Awards will be broadcast by VERSUS in the United States and CBC in Canada.
Following are the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, in alphabetical order:
Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh
Bylsma, a first-time Adams finalist, helped the Penguins (49-25-8) gain home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season under his direction, securing the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins earned the second-most points (106) and victories (49) in franchise history, overcoming a total of 350 man-games lost due to injury in the process. Most notable were the prolonged absences of star centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who missed most of Pittsburgh's final 35 games. During that stretch Pittsburgh posted a 20-11-4 record for a .629 points percentage.
Barry Trotz, Nashville
Trotz guided the Predators (44-27-11) to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven seasons, finishing fifth in the West after the most competitive Conference race in League history. The Predators again employed stingy defense and balanced scoring to finish in the West's top eight; they ranked third in the NHL in team goals-against (2.28) and had their four top scorers (Sergei Kostitsyn, Martin Erat, Patric Hornqvist and Shea Weber) separated by just two points. Trotz is an Adams nominee for the second consecutive season, finishing runner-up to Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010 voting.
Alain Vigneault, Vancouver
Vigneault led the Canucks to their finest regular season since joining the NHL in 1970-71, capturing the Presidents' Trophy as the League's top club with 117 points (54-19-9). The Canucks set single-season franchise records for most points, most victories and most road wins (27). They scored the most goals in the NHL (262), allowed the fewest (185), ranked number one in power-play percentage (24.3%) and placed third in penalty killing (85.6%). Vigneault is a third-time Adams finalist; he captured the award with Vancouver in 2007 and finished second with the Montreal Canadiens in 2000.
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.
Tickets
Tickets to the 2011 NHL Awards are on sale via Ticketmaster.com at nhl.com/awardstickets and at the Pearl Concert Theater Box Office.
Announcement Schedule
The NHL is announcing the three finalists for each of its awards daily. The remaining announcement schedule:
Monday, May 2 NHL Foundation Player Award (contributions to charitable causes)
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass
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