A Look at Alain Vigneault’s Competition for the Jack Adams Award
The Flyers’ 2019-20 turnaround is a product of many things: stability in goal with Carter Hart and Brian Elliott, smart offseason additions in Matt Niskanen, Justin Braun, Tyler Pitlick, and Kevin Hayes, a bounceback season from Ivan Provorov.
We can’t forget the man behind the bench leading the way.
After a year away from the NHL in 2018-19, Alain Vigneault has taken a middling Flyers team and turned them into a legit Stanley Cup Contender when the league resumes in late July.
With a 41-21-7 record, Vigneault and the Flyers stormed to the top of the Metropolitan Division, sitting just a point behind the Capitals for first place, something few expected back in early October.
Along the way, the 5-time Jack Adams Finalist maneuvered some tough stretches, Carter Hart’s early struggles on the road, and the shocking cancer diagnosis of Oskar Lindblom. All legitimate reasons for the Flyers to falter but they never did and that speaks volumes to the type of leader the Flyers have in their locker room.
While Vigneault has certainly earned his spot as a finalist, he does have two competitors to beat out and take home the second Jack Adams Award of his career: Boston’s Bruce Cassidy and Columbus’ John Tortorella.
Bruce Cassidy
Photo: John Tlumacki/Boston Globe/Getty Images
Since taking over for Claude Julien in 2017, this is Cassidy’s second time as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award after finishing second in 2018.
Cassidy’s Bruins have been mainstays at the top of the Eastern Conference for the past three seasons and that was the case again in 2019-20 as the Bruins went 44-14-12, topping 100 points for the third consecutive season. They were on pace for 117 points which would have tied their record set in 2013-14.
After coming up just short in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins have a great chance to make it back if they can find the momentum they had before the season was suspended.
All in all, the Bruins have been the best team in hockey this year, posting six more points than the St. Louis Blues (94 points) who own the second-best record. Boston has been a dominant force in all areas of the game, owning the best goals-against average, and are top 5 in goals per game (3.2), penalty kill (84.19%) and powerplay percentage (25.22%).
John Tortorella
Photo: Norm Hall/Getty
While not as flashy as Bruce Cassidy’s Bruins, Tortorella and the Blue Jackets have somehow clawed their way into the playoff picture after a nightmarish offseason and a rash of injuries.
Losing Artemi Panarin, two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky, and Matt Duchene last summer, Tortorella has had to lead an extremely young Blue Jackets team through the 2019-20 season and will be the youngest team included in the 24-team restart.
Along with the departures of three of their stars, Tortorella and the Blue Jackets have also been dealt their fair share of injuries with an NHL-leading 419 man-games lost to injury with Seth Jones, Josh Anderson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Cam Atkinson, and Ryan Murray all missing extended time.
To be tied for the first wild-card spot with 81 points is a credit to John Tortorella who is looking to claim his third Jack Adams Award.
Featured Image: NHL.com
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