New York, NY (Sports Network) - St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock, along with
fellow bench bosses Paul MacLean of Ottawa and John Tortorella from the New
York Rangers, have been named finalists for the Jack Adams Award as the top
coach in the NHL.
Hitchcock took over for Davis Payne on November 6 and turned a team
languishing with a 6-7-0 record into a Presidents' Trophy contender. The Blues
finished the year tied for second in the league with 109 points (49-22-11) and
wrested the Central Division away from the rival Red Wings for the first time
since 2000.
For the 60-year-old native of Edmonton, it is his fourth career Adams nod. He
finished second in 1997, and third in both 1998 and '99, all with the Dallas
Stars.
MacLean, an 11-year NHL player who starred primarily for the original Winnipeg
Jets, took an Ottawa club which finished 13th in the Eastern Conference last
season, and molded it into one that challenged for the Northeast Division
title.
The Senators finished second behind the Bruins, going 41-31-10 for 92 points.
The 18-point boost ranked fifth-most in the NHL and was second-most for a
rookie coach. MacLean is the first Ottawa head coach to finish in the top
three since Jacques Martin in 2003.
Tortorella, the 2004 Jack Adams winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, led the
Blueshirts to their best record (51-24-7) since New York's Stanley Cup-winning
campaign of 1993-94, the Atlantic Division crown, and a top seed in the
Eastern Conference.
A native of Massachusetts, Tortorella is bidding to become the first Rangers
head coach to win the honor, first awarded in 1974. Tom Renney was their last
finalist, back in 2006.
The winner will be announced during the 2012 NHL Awards program on June 20 in
Las Vegas.
The Sports Network