With the season winding down, and more and more teams being eliminated by day, I have decided to make my early picks for winner of the Jack Adams, as coach of the year.
- Guy Carbonneau - In September, almost everyone had predicted that the Canadiens wouldn’t even make play-offs. Now in late March, the Habs are on the verge of winning the Northwest Division, and are in a tight battle for the Eastern Conference lead. What he has done with this team this season is amazing if you ask me, and for a young coach, that says even more of the type of coach he is.
- Ron Wilson -After reeling off an impressive winning streak down the stretch, the Sharks have clinched the Pacific Division. The reason I think that is such a feat, is the fact that the Pacific also contains some team called the Ducks or something, and apparently they are pretty good. The other reason I think Wilson deserves a solid look, is that the Sharks have been a solid team for a few years now, and I can’t remember the last time they had a high draft pick.
- Barry Trotz - The Nashville Predators have easily had the most turbulent season. They’ve went from almost being sold to Balsillie, then they pretty much got rid of all their assets (Kariya, Vokoun, et. all). They were then sold a local group, and had to beg their fans to come to their games even though they were not expected to be contenders. Now almost in the post-season, the Preds have managed to put themselves in position to make the post-season, much of which needs to be attributed to a solid home record, and solid defensive play.
- Brent Sutter - Could the Devils be more solid defensively? Apparently they could be, because they are once again one of the best teams when it comes to GA, and yet they are still winning after losing Gomez and Rafalski. Somehow they continue to win without goal-scoring, without big names (minus Brodeur), and without high draft picks. But honestly, did anyone expect anything less of the Devils and Sutter?
- Jon Stevens - The Flyers made one of the fastest turns in NHL history. Much of this could be attributed to good management skills, but the leadership of the coaching staff has went a long way in guiding this team into the post-season (as of now). The Flyers have underwent many injuries this season, and many, many suspensions but have managed to keep afloat.
So those are my picks for coach of the year, and in that order too. But as with my picks for MVP, these are completely dependent on these teams making the playoffs, if the Flyers or Predators fall out of contention then these coaches will not deserve to be coach of the year.
