-
Ryan S. clarke
multiple authors
The NHL announced Friday that John Cooper, Dan Muse and Lindy Ruff have been named finalists for the Jack Adams Award.
The Adams Award is given to the head coach who is “deemed to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”
Cooper, the NHL’s longest-tenured coach, guided tampa bay lightning In their ninth consecutive playoff appearance. The 58-year-old has coached the team to five 50-win campaigns and seven seasons of 100-plus points.
Under Cooper, the Lightning were in the top five in goals scored per game and allowed the fewest goals per game. They also finished with the No. 3 penalty kill in the NHL with an 82.6% success rate.
A three-time Adams finalist, Cooper is seeking to win the award for the first time in his career. If so, he would become the second coach in Lightning history to win the Adams, following John Tortorella.
Muse, who was hired by the Penguins last offseason, took over a team that had missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and led it back to the postseason. Pittsburgh would ultimately lose to a cross-state rival in the first round. philadelphia flyers.
In his first NHL season, the 43-year-old Muse was forced to make several adjustments to his lineup. The Penguins dealt with injuries and inconsistencies in the season, which had them playing with a league-high 44 players.
If Muse had won, he would have been the first rookie head coach to take over Adams since Patrick Roy in 2013–14. He is the third coach in Penguins history to become a finalist, joining Dan Bylsma and Michel Therrien. Bylsma won this award in 2010–11.
Ruff, who is in his second stint with the Sabres, guided the club to its first playoff appearance in 14 seasons. The Sabres’ postseason drought was so long that they entered the season tied with the NFL’s New York Jets for the longest without making the playoffs in major American sports.
Under Ruff, the Sabers achieved the third 50-win season in franchise history. They finished with 109 points, the fifth-highest total in club history. It was also the Sabres’ first division title since 2009–10, which came during Ruff’s first run with the team.
The Sabres’ 30-point improvement was the second-largest increase since 2024-25 san jose sharks.
The 66-year-old coach won the Adams in 2005–06 after guiding the Sabers to a 53-win season, which ended in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is his fifth time as an Adams finalist, tying him with Scotty Bowman, Alain Vigneault and Tortorella for the most in NHL history.
Adams voting was conducted by members of the NHL Broadcasters Association who submitted their ballots at the end of the regular season. The coaches who finished in the top three in votes were named finalists.
