NHL's Top 3 Favorites for the Jack Adams Award

Today is Thursday so it’s time for another “top” slideshow. The NHL is at the midpoint of the season so it is a good time to look at the top favorites for the Jack Adams Award. Each season the Jack Adams is awarded to the league’s top coach.

Each year a different coach wins the award for a different reason. This year, there are three coaches who are the early favorites to win the award. One coach has really turned around his team from early season miscues, another currently is commanding the league’s best team and the third favorite has exceeded all expectations placed on his team.

Who are these three mystery men? Read on as we break down the top three favorites for the Jack Adams Award.

Kevin Dineen

Team: Florida Panthers

Years of Experience: Zero (first with Panthers)

Record: 21-13-8

The Florida Panthers are a team that was heavily criticized by many this offseason. Dave Talon’s spending drew criticism as it appeared he only brought in his former Blackhawks buddies.

Let's just take a look at how some of the former Hawks have fared this season: Kris Versteeg has 17 goals and 22 assists (39 points), while Brian Campbell has three goals and 30 assists (33 points).

Who has the last laugh now? 

Kevin Dineen has been a breath of fresh air for a Panthers team that has missed the playoffs for the past 10 seasons. Dineen has taken all the different parts and has assembled them into a solid machine.

The Panthers have hit a snag as of late but anyone who predicted that the Panthers would be leading their division at the midpoint probably is lying to your face.

With the Washington Capitals on the Panthers' tail, if Dineen can direct the Panthers to a division title, he will garner some serious Jack Adams consideration. 

John Tortorella

Team: New York Rangers

Years of Experience: 13 (fourth with Rangers)

Record: 28-9-4

He is fiery, he is determined and he is the perfect head coach for the New York Rangers. He expects a 100 percent all the time and will call out players when necessary. The Rangers held a practice the other day and when his players looked sluggish, Tortorella stopped the practice, brought them behind closed doors and gave them a fair vocal lashing.

Tortorella has pulled all the right strings so far and that is reinforced in the Rangers' record. He is a firm but fair head coach who has no problem pulling punches and that was seen on HBO’s 24/7. When you look at what Tortorella brings to the table it is hard to not consider him a huge favorite.

No one expected the Rangers to take the league by storm. No one expected the Rangers to survive without top defenseman Marc Staal. The Rangers' success can be attributed to Tortorella’s day-in and day-out evaluations.

He hasn’t allowed his team to revel in its success as he takes everything one period at a time. He doesn’t care that the Rangers have the best record in the league because in his mind, the Rangers can’t stop working unless a Stanley Cup is in their hands.

Ken Hitchcock

Team: St. Louis Blues

Years of Experience: 15 (first with Blues)

Record:19-5-5 (as head coach, 25-12-5 overall)

The St. Louis Blues got off to a terrible 6-7-5 start before Ken Hitchcock was hired. Since that point, the Blues have improved their record to 25-12-5. That leaves them with 55 points and puts them in first for their division.

Hitchcock’s presence and coaching style has made the Blues a solid defensive team. Their backbones have been a rotating tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot in net. The Blues are a completely different team that will frustrate you with a solid forecheck that helps to eliminate shots by the opposition.

A team that once was one of the worst in the league is now in the hunt for a top playoff spot. Hitchcock’s influence and maneuvering to improve his team should definitely make him a top favorite to win the Jack Adams Award.

Tom Urtz, Jr. is an NHL Featured Columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players: