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Jack Adams Award: What It Is + Every Winner

The Jack Adams Award is the NHL's coach-of-the-year honor, presented annually to the bench boss "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." In a league with tight parity, this award often tracks the best over-performance relative to expectations. First presented after the 1973-74 season, the award is named for Jack Adams, a Hall of Famer who won multiple Stanley Cups as both coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. The trophy is voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association at the end of the regular season.

January 25, 2026

Voters typically weigh multiple factors:

Year-over-year improvement in standings
Impact of injuries and roster turnover
Surprising playoff qualification
Exceeding preseason expectations

Patterns and Criticisms

Historically, the Jack Adams has tended to reward one-year turnarounds more than long-term dominance. Coaches who squeeze unexpected performance from rebuilding or under-rated rosters are frequent winners, while consistent elite coaches sometimes get overlooked because expectations are already sky-high.

Common Narratives:

"One and Done" Winners:

Teams regress following year
Overachievement not sustainable
Roster talent catches up to results

Elite Coaches Overlooked:

Scotty Bowman won only 2 despite 9 Cups
Joel Quenneville won only 1 despite 3 Cups
Success becomes expected, not rewarded

Despite that, the award remains a useful snapshot of which coaches maximized their rosters in any given season.

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Notable Multi-Time Winners

Several coaches have won the Jack Adams multiple times:

Pat Burns: 3 wins (1989, 1993, 1998)

Only three-time winner
Won with three different teams (Montreal, Toronto, Boston)
Ability to transform franchises quickly
Defensive systems and accountability

Scotty Bowman: 2 wins (1977, 1996)

Won with Montreal and Detroit
9 Stanley Cups but only 2 Jack Adams
Excellence became expected

Barry Trotz: 2 wins (2016, 2019)

Washington Capitals and NY Islanders
Defensive structure specialist
Transformed struggling teams

John Tortorella: 2 wins (2004, 2017)

Tampa Bay and Columbus
Intense coaching style
Maximized roster talent

Jacques Demers: 2 wins (1987, 1988)

Back-to-back with Detroit
Motivational coaching approach
Quick turnarounds

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Recent Winners and Trends

Recent winners show a mix of first-time and repeat honorees:

2023-24: Rick Tocchet (Vancouver Canucks) Dramatic regular-season turnaround from bottom-feeder to contender.

2022-23: Jim Montgomery (Boston Bruins) Record-breaking regular season in wins and points.

2021-22: Darryl Sutter (Calgary Flames) Transformed Flames into division winner.

2020-21: Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina Hurricanes) Built consistent winner from young core.

2019-20: Bruce Cassidy (Boston Bruins) Maintained excellence despite roster changes.

These choices highlight that voters reward both historical regular-season dominance (Montgomery's Bruins) and major over-achievements against expectations (Tocchet's Canucks).

Complete Winner List (1974-2024)

2020s:

2023-24: Rick Tocchet (Vancouver)
2022-23: Jim Montgomery (Boston)
2021-22: Darryl Sutter (Calgary)
2020-21: Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina)

2010s:

2019-20: Bruce Cassidy (Boston)
2018-19: Barry Trotz (NY Islanders)
2017-18: Gerard Gallant (Vegas)
2016-17: John Tortorella (Columbus)
2015-16: Barry Trotz (Washington)
2014-15: Bob Hartley (Calgary)
2013-14: Patrick Roy (Colorado)
2012-13: Paul MacLean (Ottawa)
2011-12: Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis)
2010-11: Dan Bylsma (Pittsburgh)

2000s:

2009-10: Dave Tippett (Phoenix)
2008-09: Claude Julien (Boston)
2007-08: Bruce Boudreau (Washington)
2006-07: Alain Vigneault (Vancouver)
2005-06: Lindy Ruff (Buffalo)
2003-04: John Tortorella (Tampa Bay)
2002-03: Jacques Lemaire (Minnesota)
2001-02: Bob Francis (Phoenix)
2000-01: Bill Barber (Philadelphia)

1990s:

1999-00: Joel Quenneville (St. Louis)
1998-99: Jacques Martin (Ottawa)
1997-98: Pat Burns (Boston)
1996-97: Ted Nolan (Buffalo)
1995-96: Scotty Bowman (Detroit)
1994-95: Marc Crawford (Quebec)
1993-94: Jacques Lemaire (New Jersey)
1992-93: Pat Burns (Toronto)
1991-92: Pat Quinn (Vancouver)
1990-91: Brian Sutter (St. Louis)

1980s:

1989-90: Bob Murdoch (Winnipeg)
1988-89: Pat Burns (Montreal)
1987-88: Jacques Demers (Detroit)
1986-87: Jacques Demers (Detroit)
1985-86: Glen Sather (Edmonton)
1984-85: Mike Keenan (Philadelphia)
1983-84: Bryan Murray (Washington)
1982-83: Orval Tessier (Chicago)
1981-82: Tom Watt (Winnipeg)
1980-81: Red Berenson (St. Louis)

1970s:

1979-80: Pat Quinn (Philadelphia)
1978-79: Al Arbour (NY Islanders)
1977-78: Bobby Kromm (Detroit)
1976-77: Scotty Bowman (Montreal)
1975-76: Don Cherry (Boston)
1974-75: Bob Pulford (Los Angeles)
1973-74: Fred Shero (Philadelphia)

Why the Jack Adams Matters

The Jack Adams Award captures which coach squeezed the most out of his roster in a given year. For front offices, agents, and bettors, that makes it useful shorthand for bench impact: who maximizes systems, matchups, and buy-in beyond preseason projections.

In a salary-cap league where edges are thin, understanding which coaches consistently show up on Jack Adams ballots is a powerful signal of sustainable, repeatable bench value. These coaches find ways to win with less talent, develop young players faster, and implement systems that work regardless of personnel changes.

The award might not always go to the "best" coach (that's why Bowman only has two), but it does identify who did the most with what they had. And in a league built on parity, that coaching value is often the difference between playoffs and lottery.

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