Bruce Boudreau’s Case for the 2022 Jack Adams Award

The Numbers

Under Travis Green, the Canucks went 8-15-2. Their penalty kill was the worst in the NHL, and their power play didn’t do them any favours either.

Under Boudreau, the Canucks are 30-13-9. Since the day Boudreau took over, they have the fourth-best power play in the league in and rank 17th on the penalty kill.

Boudreau gave the stars room to shine. Elias Pettersson saw a 54% rise in points per game under Boudreau, as opposed to Green. JT Miller improved by 44% in the same category, while Bo Horvat improved by 42%.

Matthew Highmore and Juho Lammikko both made names for themselves this year, thanks to Boudreau. Additionally, Kyle Burroughs and Luke Schenn proved that they can be full-time NHLers.

The factor of the matter is this: The Canucks are a better team under Boudreau than they were under Green— and it’s not even close.

With five games remaining in the season, the Canucks still have some work to do if they want to make the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings stand in their way at the moment, but it’s still possible for the Canucks to leapfrog into that last Pacific Division playoff spot.

Precedent Cases

As the old saying goes, ”the best way to predict the future is to look at the past.” Here are some examples of coaches in similar situations who won the Jack Adams.

Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals, 2008

We might forget that Boudreau has been in this situation before. The Washington Capitals struggled hard to begin the 2007-08 season, starting 6-14-1. In late November, the team fired coach Glen Hanlon and brought Boudreau in to clean up the mess.

After Boudreau took over, the Capitals went 37-17-7, earning them a berth in the playoffs— although it took them until the last game of the season to secure a spot.

Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis Blues, 2012

The St. Louis Blues brought in Ken Hitchcock to clean up Davis Payne’s mess in November of 2011.  After the Blues’ 6-7-0 start, Hitchcock coached the team to a 43-15-11 record, finishing two points back of the Presidents’ Trophy (which the Canucks won, by the way).

Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers, 2000-01

Craig Ramsay’s 12-12-4 start wasn’t good enough, so the Philadelphia Flyers brought in Bill Barber to get the job done. Barber went 31-13-7, which was enough to nab him the Jack Adams Award.

Just like Boudreau this year, Barber did not suffer a loss in his first eight games behind the bench. Barber did, however, have three ties during that time.

Competition

Boudreau’s success is undoubtedly spectacular, but it’s all relative to how the other coaches are doing. Here’s an in-depth look at the competition.

Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames

If anyone deserves to win the Jack Adams as much as Boudreau, it’s Darryl Sutter. His Calgary Flames are among the best teams in the league, despite not even making the playoffs last year.

One of the best things Sutter has done for the Flames is kickstart Johnny Gaudreau. Many thought the one-time 99-point-scorer was destined to remain a middle-six forward for the rest of eternity. He proved the haters wrong this year, however, as he currently owns 108 points with five games to go.

Gerard Gallant, New York Rangers

The New York Rangers surprised a lot of people with their success this year. After missing the playoffs by 11 points last season, and having not added much to their core group over the off-season, many expected them to persist in mediocrity this year.

This year was different, however. The Rangers already clinched a playoff spot and have their sights set high.

Igor Shesterkin dominates night in and night out. Not only is he the favourite to win the Vezina Trophy, many people also have him as their Hart candidate. Chris Kreider is at the end of a ridiculous season, having scored 50 goals already with five games left in the season. Adam Fox, once again, is playing at an elite level, and Jacob Trouba is finally living up to his contract.

A lot of that success can be credited to the individual players, but it would be foolish to think that the coach didn’t have a major part in that.

Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins

Like the Rangers, many expected the Pittsburgh Penguins to be mediocre this year. Many even predicted that they would miss the playoffs for the first time since Sidney Crosby’s rookie year. Mike Sullivan, however, had other plans.

Despite the fact that Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both missed a significant portion of the season, Sullivan’s Penguins found ways to win games. They got good goaltending, and players like Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Evan Rodrigues pitched in offensively to compensate for the injuries.

Sullivan got the most out of his players, and that’s all you can ask of a coach.

Andrew Brunette, Florida Panthers

Andrew Brunette took over the Florida Panthers seven games into the season after Joel Quenneville resigned due to his role in the Kyle Beach situation. The Panthers were on a tear at the time of the coaching change, having not lost a single game in the season.

The Panthers continued to succeed immensely throughout the season. They currently lead the NHL in goal differential, having scored 13 more goals than the next-best team.

Brunette’s case might be broken, however, by the fact that he inherited a fully functional team. The bus was already in motion, he just had to keep the wheel steady.

Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes

In all honesty, Rod Brind’Amour could probably win the Jack Adams every year. He won it last year for his contributions to the Carolina Hurricanes’ third-place finish in the league, as well as their Central Division title. He gets lots of praise for sticking up for his players and for being in better shape than many of them.

The only thing hurting Brind’Amour’s case is the fact that he won the award last year. The only coach to ever win the Jack Adams in back-to-back years is Jacques Demers, who did it in 1987 and 1988. If a team is a perennial contender, the impact of the coaching staff is often secondary to the talent and depth of the roster. Therefore, the coach is often overlooked in Jack Adams voting.

What Will it Take for Boudreau to Win the Jack Adams?

If the Canucks make the playoffs, Boudreau can march into Gary Bettman’s office and pick up his trophy, no questions asked. When Boudreau took over the Canucks in December, they were in the running for the first-overall pick. Now, with five games left in the regular season, they sit on the brink of the postseason.

Bruce, if you read this, one piece of advice: Don’t get barbecue sauce on your shirt before the awards ceremony!