Evason, Brind'Amour, Quenneville Named Finalists for 2021 Jack Adams Award

The NHL named the three finalists on Friday for the Jack Adams Award given to the league's top head coach.

The finalists are Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour and Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville.

Both Evason and Brind'Amour are first-time finalists. Quenneville is looking to become a two-time Adams winner after winning it in 2000 with the St. Louis Blues.

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Evason got his first NHL head coaching opportunity in the 2019-20 season when he coached the Wild for the final 12 games. After helping lead them to the playoffs, the 56-year-old was named the full-time coach entering 2020-21.

That decision paid dividends for the Wild as they went 35-16-5, finished third in the West Division and reached the playoffs, where they lost in seven games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.

Brind'Amour, 50, completed his third season as head coach of the Hurricanes, leading Carolina to the playoffs for the third straight year.

The former Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and Hurricanes center guided Carolina to the Central Division title with a 36-12-8 record, finishing ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Canes needed six games to beat the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Tampa in five games.

Of the three finalists, Quenneville is by far the most experienced and accomplished NHL head coach.

The 62-year-old won three Stanley Cups as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, '13 and '15.

The likely future Hall of Famer also ranks second in NHL history in career coaching wins with 962. That puts him behind only Scotty Bowman and his 1,244 career victories.

This season, Quenneville led the Panthers to a 37-14-5 record, which was good for second place in the Central Division. They fell to the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs in six games.

If the Ontario, Canada, native wins the Jack Adams, he will become the eighth head coach in NHL history to win it at least twice.

Also, his 21 years between winning the award would be a new record, breaking the one of 19 years held by Bowman.

The winner of the Jack Adams Award and the other NHL awards will be announced during the Stanley Cup playoffs.