Ranking the Top Early Candidates for 2014-15 Jack Adams Award

Though he never touches the puck, an NHL coach might be the single most important ingredient in a team's success or failure.

It falls to the coach to organize, teach, motivate and deploy the talent on his roster in order to generate on-ice results. Good or bad, he's the one who will be left at the podium at the end of every game to explain his matchups, his strategies, his players' performances and where he thinks his team can improve.

Being a spokesperson is only a small part of the job. The best coaches are the ones who truly bring out the best in their players thanks to their work behind the scenes.

Each year, the NHL Broadcasters' Association presents the Jack Adams Award to the coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success," per NHL.com. It's a directive that leaves plenty of room for personal interpretation among the voters.

Though there are exceptions, a look at the award's past winners shows that the broadcasters seem to favor newer coaches who generate big changes for their teams—like winner Patrick Roy did last year with the Colorado Avalanche. Also worth noting: Votes must be submitted at the end of the regular season. The playoffs are a separate animal.

So, assuming that perennial regular-season standouts like Joel Quenneville, Bruce Boudreau, Mike Babcock and Todd McLellan won't generate more than a cursory nod from the voters, here's how the 2014-15 Jack Adams race is shaping up through the first month of the new season.

Stats courtesy of NHL.com. All coaching records courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com.

8. Bob Hartley: Calgary Flames

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Status: Third season with the Calgary Flames, who are 5-4-2 through 11 games this year. Hartley's coaching record with Calgary is 59-69-13 in 141 games.

Hartley has also led the Colorado Avalanche and Atlanta Thrashers. His overall coaching record is 388-295-61-47 for 884 points in 791 career games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: The Flames were at a low point when Hartley signed on as coach at the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Calgary had fallen just short of a playoff spot for three straight seasons and was on the verge of losing veteran leaders Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff to unrestricted free agency.

With a clean slate, the Flames began their rebuild in 2013-14. Though they finished 27th in the NHL standings, the season was considered a success thanks to Hartley's coaching.

"Calgary's work ethic was a key component last season," said Dennis Gorman of The Associated Press (via the Edmonton Journal) on the eve of the new campaign. "A significantly under-talented squad played hard and finished with a 35-40-7 record despite competing in the tough Pacific Division."

Solid free-agent acquisitions this summer, including goaltender Jonas Hiller, now have Calgary sitting comfortably among the league's top 10 teams.

What's Working Against Him: Calgary's sixth-place spot in the Western Conference standings after Wednesday's games is a bit deceptive, as the Flames have already played 11 games—among the most in the league. 

Central Division powerhouses like the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild all currently sit below Calgary but are averaging more points per game. On that metric, the Flames are ranked 20th overall.

The Flames are making great strides in their rebuild, and Bob Hartley has done an amazing job with the pieces that he has been given. But Calgary will need to be in playoff contention at the end of the year to earn him any real consideration for the Jack Adams Award. 

7. Willie Desjardins: Vancouver Canucks

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Status: First season with the Vancouver Canucks, who are 6-3-0 through nine games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: Tasked with getting the Canucks back on track after John Tortorella's disastrous tenure in Vancouver in 2013-14, Willie Desjardins has brought in an uptempo playing style that has the team scoring goals, producing on the power play and winning games.

Desjardins' approach seems to be building team unity while keeping players accountable. 

"He’s not going to shuffle the lines too much after tough games and it gives guys confidence," said blueliner Luca Sbisa to Ben Kuzma of The Province after the Canucks bounced back from a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche with a solid 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals last Sunday. "You make a bad play and get a good chance go out to make up for it. If a line has a bad game, he’s not going to panic and pull them apart."

What's Working Against Him: The big gunners of the Pacific Division. The Canucks' good record comes mostly from games against the league's lesser lights. Blowout road losses to the Avalanche and the Dallas Stars leave question marks about the team's ability to compete against tougher opposition.

Next week, the Canucks hit the road for four games in six nights in Denver, San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. The outcomes should show whether Desjardins is a serious candidate for this year's Jack Adams Award.

6. Mike Johnston: Pittsburgh Penguins

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Status: First season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are 5-2-1 through eight games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: Johnston has amped up the already-explosive Pittsburgh Penguins offense, which leads the league through Tuesday with 4.12 goals scored per game. In 2013-14, the Penguins finished the season ranked fifth offensively with 2.95 goals per game.

What's Working Against Him: Perpetually high expectations. Pittsburgh has been a regular-season powerhouse in the Eastern Conference for years and won its division for the last two seasons. It's easy for doubters to argue that the players drive the team's success, not the coach.

The Jack Adams Award is based on regular-season performance. Johnston's success in Pittsburgh won't truly be judged until the playoffs.

5. Jack Capuano: New York Islanders

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Status: Fifth season with the New York Islanders, who are 6-3-0 through nine games this year. Capuano's overall coaching record is 124-123-39 for 287 points in 286 games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: The road to respectability has been a windy one for the New York Islanders under Capuano's watch. The Islanders made the playoffs in 2012-13 but got off to a rocky start the following season. After a season-ending injury to captain John Tavares at the 2014 Olympics, the Islanders finished at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division last year.

Savvy offseason trades and free-agent signings have helped to balance the roster for 2014-15. With a healthy Tavares leading the way, the Islanders are a force to be reckoned with in the early going.

What's Working Against Him: The hot start has cooled. After winning their first four games to open the season, the Islanders have gone 2-3 over the last five-game stretch. Most recently—and most troubling—they lost to the Winnipeg Jets at home on Tuesday night.

After years of futility, the Islanders don't get much attention from the media. Capuano will have to keep his team near the top of the Eastern Conference standings all year long to gain the buzz he'll need to get into the Jack Adams conversation.

4. Darryl Sutter: Los Angeles Kings

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Status: Fourth season with the Los Angeles Kings, who are 6-1-2 through nine games this year.

Sutter has coached the Kings to a 104-58-26 regular-season record and two Stanley Cups. His overall coaching record is 513-378-101-56 for 1,183 points in 1,048 games with the Kings, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

What He's Accomplished So Far: Did I mention those two Stanley Cups in the past three seasons? Sutter took over a mediocre Los Angeles team midway through the 2011-12 season and has turned them into an NHL superpower.

Sutter's Kings were knocked in past years for not playing to their full potential until the playoffs began. This season, they're off to a blistering start, with their only regulation loss coming in their home opener against the San Jose Sharks.

With top center Anze Kopitar injured and key blueliner Slava Voynov suspended, the Kings sit third in the NHL after Wednesday's games. Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter are both among the league's top 10 scorers, while goaltenders Martin Jones (.970) and Jonathan Quick (.950) are in the top five league-wide in save percentage.

While making his team successful, Sutter has become something of a media darling with his wry remarks. With a coaching history that goes back more than 20 years, a solid regular season could bring Sutter his first Jack Adams Award in 2014-15.

What's Working Against Him: Sutter's success is no longer a surprise, which could keep him off some broadcasters' voting radar. The Kings will likely need to post a franchise-record regular season to get their coach into the Adams conversation.

3. Jon Cooper: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Status: Third season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are 6-3-1 through 10 games this year. Cooper's overall record is 57-38-13 for 127 points in 108 NHL games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: After being promoted to the Lightning from their AHL affiliate late in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Cooper became a Jack Adams finalist in his first full year behind the Lightning bench.

Despite losing star sniper Steven Stamkos to a broken leg and captain Martin St. Louis to trade, Cooper guided his team back to the playoffs and introduced two unlikely Calder Trophy candidates he'd shepherded up from the minor leagues—Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson.

Back at full strength and with Stamkos and goaltender Ben Bishop in good health this year, the Lightning avenged their playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens with a convincing 7-1 victory and have been solid at both ends of the ice through their first 10 games.

In his first NHL head coaching job, Cooper has displayed a bright personality and a knack for player development.

What's Working Against Him: In Tampa Bay, Cooper won't get the media attention that he'd receive if he was coaching in a Canadian market or one of the U.S. hockey hotbeds.

Despite a winning record, an exciting style of hockey and a superb roster of talent that includes Stamkos, Bishop and currently injured defenseman Victor Hedman, Cooper's regular-season success won't earn him enough ink to win the Jack Adams Award.

If he can take the Lightning deep into the playoffs next spring and follow it up with another solid season, Cooper's in great position to take the big prize in 2016.

2. Peter Laviolette: Nashville Predators

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Status: First season with the Nashville Predators, who are 6-1-2 through nine games this season.

Laviolette has also coached the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers. His overall record is 394-283-25-65 for for 878 points in 767 games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: Only the second head coach in Nashville Predators history, Laviolette was charged with bringing a more offensive attack to Music City. The Preds still rank 21st in the NHL so far with 2.44 goals per game, but they're off to a hot start and currently lead the Central Division.

Laviolette has a solid pedigree. He won a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and led the Flyers on an unexpected trip to the Cup Final in 2010, but he has never won a Jack Adams Award.

What's Working Against Him: Laviolette's biggest obstacle is the competition in the Central Division, which will press the Preds in every head-to-head matchup. Nashville is 3-0-1 so far against divisional opponents and has posted wins against the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars, but it won't be easy for Nashville to keep pace as the season wears on.

If the Predators can end the year ranked among the Central Division elite, you can be sure that Laviolette will earn significant Jack Adams votes for his inaugural turn in the Western Conference.

1. Michel Therrien: Montreal Canadiens

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Status: Sixth season in total through two separate stretches with the Montreal Canadiens, who are 8-2-0 through 10 games this year.

Therrien has coached the Canadiens to a 160-121-23-26 record. He also spent four seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. His overall coaching record is 295-226-23-58 for 671 points over 602 games.

What He's Accomplished So Far: Therrien has made steady, manageable progress with the Canadiens since stepping back behind the bench for the 2012-13 season. In his first year, he took Montreal from last place in the Eastern Conference to a playoff berth, then reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2013-14. 

This year, Montreal is red hot—first in the Eastern Conference after 10 games. If the Habs can keep it up, they'll be the team to beat from the East in this year's playoffs.

What's Working Against Him: Not much. Early-season defensive lapses seem to be fading into memory, and goaltender Carey Price is returning to Olympic form in net. 

After a couple of decades of hard times, one of the NHL's most storied franchises looks poised to climb back to elite status. Therrien will receive his share of the credit for the resurgence, which will likely come in the form of a shiny Jack Adams Award at the end of the season.