Mike Babcock Vs. Joel Quenneville: Handicapping the Jack Adams Award

"On paper, this team should..."

If you haven't already, you're likely going to start seeing a lot of team previews that will sum up a team's chances of success or failure by finishing that sentence.

On paper, some teams look like world-beaters, others, look like they have a great shot of picking first in the 2011 Entry Draft.

But, at this point, all we have is paper.

To my mind, the biggest single factor that will either verify the greatness people see on paper, or, perhaps defy the paper-based expectations of failure is coaching.

In all sports, but particularly the NHL, a good coach can make a mediocre team look great and can turn a great team into a champion.

In 1974, the NHL introduced the Jack Adams Award to recognize the most outstanding coaching performance during the NHL regular season.

Now, awards such as this are a bit problematic because they are not exactly based on statistics or points, and don't necessarily go to the man who coached the most successful regular season team.

The Jack Adams is typically awarded to a man who has accomplished one of three types of feats in the regular season: he turned a previously poor performing team into a drastically better squad, he consistently tweaked and altered his line-up to get the most out of it game in and game out (this is typically referred to "out-coaching" opponents), or, he managed to turn a young and raw team into a contender.

If you feel these classifications don't do much to clarify how the "coach of the year" is selected, I understand.

However, suffice to say that, as inexact as the selection process is, history suggestions that doing one of these three things will get you into the Jack Adams conversation.

Going with these as our criterion, Bleacher Report has selected five possible candidates for the 2011 Jack Adams Award.

If I've done my job, those who agree will feel inclined to post their approval, and those who disagree will almost surely want to post their displeasure and make an argument for alternate choices.

So please, whichever camp you fall into, feel free to post away!

Joel Quenneville: Chicago Blackhawks

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PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 09: Head coach Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks hoists the Stanley Cup after the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime and win the Stanley Cup in Game Six of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Wachov

If Coach Q does win the award this year, he'll be just the seventh coach in NHL history to win it more than once.

Quenneville won the Jack Adams in 2000 after leading the St. Louis Blues to a President's Trophy finish.  Last season, he was perhaps an under-appreciated piece of the Blackhawks successful Stanley Cup run.

Suffice to say, if the 'Hawks repeat their regular season performance of last season, Quenneville will be first and foremost on the list of reasons why.

While I believe it to be a myth that teams stacked with talent and leadership, essentially coach themselves, having a roster thick with skill certainly makes the job more exciting.

This season, Quenneville will be blessed once again with a very talented line-up boasting stars such as Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Marian Hossa.  But, the deep end of the talent pool in Chicago has risen drastically upward over the summer.

With such key contributors as Kris Versteeg, John Madden, and Antti Niemi wearing new sweaters this season, Quenneville will need to get the most out of their replacements, made up mainly of other team's cast-offs and NHL neophytes.

The drastic turn-over in Chicago this summer has left some fearing (or hoping) that the Blackhawks will be a one and done elite team.

However, if Chicago maintains their excellence from a year ago, it will be because their coach made the most out of a less then optimal situation.

Mike Babcock: Detroit Red Wings

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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 16: Head coach Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings watches from the bench in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Phoenix Coyotes during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Jobing.com Arena on April 16, 201

One might think that coaching a veteran-laden roster of players, most of whom have already drank champagne out of the Stanley Cup, is an easy task.

If so, one would be wrong.

Though Detroit remains an elite team, on paper, managing lines and playing times of an odd collection of aging superstars, elite players in their prime, and young guys still finding their way in the NHL is a task few coaches could perform successfully.

Then there's the goaltending.

Devastated by injuries last year, the Red Wings kept their playoff hopes alive by pinning them to the jersey of Calder Trophy candidate Jimmy Howard.

The rookie goalie emerged as the team's MVP last season, but, that doesn't mean that he'll perform at the same level this season.

Though he's slated to be the team's No. 1 net-minder this season, Jimmy Howard will need to be watched closely for signs of wear or the mental fatigue that comes with such a job.

Managing the playing time of Howard and his backup, Chris Osgood is going to be a tricky task this season in and of itself.

Add that to the duties of deciding how many shifts to ice 40-year-olds Nicklas Lidstrom and Mike Modano, and how often to trust youngsters like Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm on the penalty-kill, and one can see that Babcock has his work cut out for him.

If he can get his team back to the rarefied air of the NHL elite this season, Mike Babcock may earn himself the first Jack Adams Award of his career.

Ron Wilson: Toronto Maple Leafs

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ATLANTA - MARCH 25: Head coach Ron Wilson of the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena on March 25, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

It's tough to say if being a head coach in the center of the hockey universe is the toughest job in the NHL or not.

After all, the Toronto Maple Leafs have hardly been contenders the past several seasons, yet every game is a sell out and their fans are as rabid and dedicated as any in the league.

Regardless, the roster changes GM Brian Burke made mid-season last year and over the summer suggest that the Leafs are bound for a significant upswing in 2010-11.

That is, if their coach can make it happen.

Ron Wilson has his supporters, and he certainly has his detractors.

His penchant for odd locker-room rituals involving toilet seats and Native American war cries have rubbed many under his charge the wrong way in the past.  As has his affinity for technology and his demands that his players adopt similar affections for gadgets and laptops.

Nevertheless, Ron Wilson has coached several teams to impressive success and Toronto may turn out to be yet another team that Wilson can turn around.

Wilson has several new pieces with which to work with this season including Colby Armstrong, Brett Lebda, and Kris Versteeg.

He'll need to find a way to get the most out of them, as well as players like Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf if Toronto is to emerge as a playoff contender.  If they do, Wilson should deserve a hefty dose of recognition for doing so.

Barry Trotz: Nashville Predators

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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 07: Head coach Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators during the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on April 7, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Predators 5-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Ge

Barry Trotz was a runner-up for the Adams last season, and as deserving as Dave Tippet was of the award, Trotz coaching prowess is no less impressive.

The only coach the organization has ever known, the Predators owe virtually every one of their four playoff appearances to their coach.

Regardless of who is on the roster, the Predators emerge each season as a team to reckoned with and have often made improbable late seasons runs to get into the playoffs.

This season is no different.

With yet another mini-Exodus in Nashville which saw their captain, Jason Arnott leave for New Jersey and No. 2 defender, Dan Hamhuis bolt for Vancouver, the odds are not on the Pred's side this season.

But, this is just par for the course for Barry Trotz who has managed to get buy in from an ever changing roster year in and year out.

Barry Trotz employs a system based on speed, defense and grit that, were he fortunate enough to have a more talented team, would lead to substantial success in the regular season and beyond.

As it stands, the Predators are once again shy on on-ice talent, but, the brain behind the bench will almost certainly get the most out of the men sitting on it.

Even if the Predators manage only an eighth seed finish (and history suggests there's no reason they won't), Barry Trotz should be the hands-down favorite for coach of the year in 2010-11.

Terry Murray: Los Angeles Kings

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LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 03: Head Coach Terry Murray of the Los Angeles Kings watches play against the Phoenix Coyotes during the first period at the Staples Center on October 3, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Living on the West Coast, I have better exposure than most NHL fans to the emerging powerhouse that is the Los Angeles Kings.

Though they remain one of the youngest teams in the league, the Kings have quickly become a relevant and dangerous NHL force and fans' expectations for the 2010-11 season are high to say the least.

The Kings got themselves back into the post season for the first time in eight years last year, and though they went out in the first round against the Vancouver Canucks, they look poised to make a much deeper run this season.

Still, NHL history is replete with young, up and coming teams that break through one year, and despite high expectations the next, fail miserably (I'm looking at you Columbus).

With Drew Doughty, who will undoubtedly win a Norris or two before his career is over, Anze Kopitar, Jack Johnson, and Wayne Simmonds in the lineup, the Kings have a core as good as any in the league.

Yet, utilizing those players effectively along with veterans such as Willie Mitchell and Ryan Smyth is what Terry Murray will need to do in order to deliver on the promise his team so obviously has.

The Kings are just now understanding how to win, but they've got a few more lessons to learn before they'll be ready to do so on a regular basis.

Their teacher is Mr. Murray.  If the Kings break through this season and finish among the top in the West, his squad better make sure to bring him an apple the next day because he will most certainly have earned it.

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