TORONTO — Colorado's Jared Bednar, Boston's Bruce Cassidy and Vegas's Gerard Gallant were named the finalists for the Jack Adams Award on Wednesday, given annually to the coach voted best in the NHL.
Bednar coached the Avalanche to one of the best single-season turnarounds in NHL history. Colorado (43-30-9) earned 95 points, a 47-point increase from when they finished last in the standings in 2016-17, and clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth for the first time since 2013-14.
Cassidy coached the Bruins (50-20-12, 112 points) to a fourth-place finish in the NHL standings and their fourth-highest point total in 40 years. Boston was 22-12-7 on the road, third in the NHL behind the Nashville Predators (25-9-7) and Tampa Bay Lightning (25-13-3), and its 13-game road point streak (11-0-2) from Dec. 13-Feb. 11 was the fifth-longest in its history.
Gallant coached the Golden Knights to a historic season for a first-year team. Vegas (51-24-7, 109 points) was the first modern-era expansion club from any of the four North American professional sports leagues to start from scratch and win its division.
The Canadian Press
