3 Jack Adams Award Winners That Coached In The 1981-82 AHL

The American Hockey League in 1981-82 consisted of just eleven teams, five in the Northern Division and six in the Southern Division. Three head coaches from that AHL season went on to be Coach of the Year in the National Hockey League and were honoured with the Jack Adams Award.

Jacques Demers – Fredericton Express

In his first two years as head coach in Fredericton, his only two in the AHL, Demers had a less than stellar season. The Express finished last overall and fifth in the Northern Division with a dismal record of 20 wins, 55 losses and five ties for 45 points over the 80 game schedule.

Just five years later, Jacques made history as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Jack Adams Award in consecutive seasons, 1986-87 and 1987-88. He is one of just five to win the award more than once and the only man in history to win the Jack Adams in consecutive seasons.

In both years, the Red Wings reached the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 1985-86, the year before Demers arrives, Detroit was pathetic. The Red Wings finished last overall in the NHL that season with just 17 wins and six ties for 40 points while losing 57 of 80 games.

In 1986-87, the Red Wings placed second in the Norris Division and reached the Stanley Cup semi-finals before bowing to the mighty Edmonton Oilers in five games. The following year, Detroit improved to first in the Norris but once again fell to the Oilers in the semi-finals.

Mike Keenan – Rochester Americans

In Iron Mike’s second of three years coaching the Americans, Rochester finished second in the Southern Division and fourth overall in the AHL. The team fell to the Binghamton Whalers in the Calder Cup semi-finals, losing four games to one.

Just three years later, in 1984-85, Keenan was coaching in his first NHL season. He led the Philadelphia Flyers to a first place finish in the Patrick Division and a first place overall finish in the NHL. The team won 53 games and totalled 113 points. It was plenty enough to earn him the Jack Adams Award. It was his first of four years with the club.

The Flyers swept the Rangers in three games in the first round of the playoffs. They then beat the New York Islanders in five and the Quebec Nordiques in six to earn a berth in the Stanley Cup finals. Like Demers, it was the Edmonton Oilers that got in the way of Keenan and the Flyers. Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers beat Philadelphia in the finals, four games to one, to capture the Stanley Cup.

Orval Tessier – New Brunswick Hawks

Tessier made his only year in the AHL count. The Hawks finished first overall during the regular season. New Brunswick then plowed through the competition to capture the Calder Cup championship. In the final series, Orval’s boys took out the Binghamton Whalers in five games.

The following season, Orval Tessier was behind the bench of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. The 1982-83 Blackhawks finished first in the Norris Division with 47 wins and 104 points, good for fourth overall in the NHL.

In the first round of the playoffs, Chicago beat the St. Louis Blues three games to one. In the following round, it was another quick series as the Blackhawks downed the Minnesota North Stars in five. Like Keenan and Demers, the road block for Tessier was the Edmonton Oilers. The teams met in the semi-finals with the Oilers sweeping the series.

4 Philadelphia Flyers Jack Adams Award Winners

The Jack Adams Award has existed in the National Hockey League since the 1973-74 season. The award is handed out each season to the best head coach in the league. Two teams, to date, have had their coaches win the Jack Adams Award on four occasions. One of those teams is the Detroit Red Wings and the other is the Philadelphia Flyers.

Fred Shero

Fred Shero was the first ever recipient of the Jack Adams Award in 1973-74. His Flyers finished the regular season with 50 wins and 112 points in 78 games and were placed first in the West Division. The point total was a 27 point improvement over the previous season. After sweeping the Atlanta Flames in the first round and ousting the New York Rangers in seven games in the semi-finals, Philadelphia won the Stanley Cup in six games over the Boston Bruins.

The 1973-74 Flyers were led by Bobby Clarke, Rick MacLeish, Bill Barber and Bernie Parent. They would win the Stanley Cup the following year as well, their last Cup victory to this date. Shero coached the team from 1971-72 to 1977-78. He followed that up with three years as bench boss of the New York Rangers. His teams were runners-up twice, Philadelphia once and New York once.

Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn, in just his second year as head coach, won the Jack Adams Award in 1979-80. The Flyers totaled 116 points during the regular season, good for first overall in the NHL. After ploughing through the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers lost to the New York Islanders in the finals.

Reg Leach led the 1979-80 Flyers with 50 goals while Ken Linseman led the team in points. Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber were still key factors on the team.

Pat Quinn coached in the NHL from 1978-79 to 2009-10 with the Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. Quinn never won a Stanley Cup but did find his way to the finals again in 1993-94 with the Vancouver Canucks. Pat won the Jack Adams again in 1991-92, with Vancouver.

Mike Keenan

Mike Keenan won the Jack Adams Award in his first year as head coach, 1984-85. ‘Iron Mike’ coached the Flyers to first overall in the NHL with 113 points. Once again, Philadelphia made it to the finals after beating the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Quebec Nordiques. Unfortunately, Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers proved too strong and beat the Flyers in five to take the Stanley Cup.

Tim Kerr led the Flyers that season with 54 goals. Also leading the team were Brian Propp, Dave Poulin, Mark Howe, Rick Tocchet and Pelle Lindbergh.

Keenan coached in the NHL from 1984-85 to 2008-09 with the Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. Two of Mike’s teams in Philadelphia were runners-up for the Stanley Cup. He also coached the Chicago Blackhawks to an unsuccessful run at the finals. Behind the bench of the 1993-94 New York Rangers, Keenan got his only Stanley Cup.

Bill Barber

Bill Barber was head coach of the Flyers for just a season and a half. He took over from Craig Ramsay part way through the 2000-01 season and Philadelphia had a 31-13 record under the former player, earning him the Jack Adams. The team finished with 100 points and a second place Atlantic Division seeding. The Flyers lost in the first round to the Buffalo Sabres in six games. Mark Recchi, Keith Primeau and Simon Gagne starred.

Barber coached the following season and hasn’t coached since. Bill played for the team from 1972-73 to 1983-84. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

4 St. Louis Blues Jack Adams Award Winners

The St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League have yet to take home their first Stanley Cup. The team joined the league in the expansion boom of 1967-68. The team has produced some great regular season teams and three coaches that won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.

Red Berenson 1980-81

Red Berenson was no stranger to St. Louis when he became head coach of the team in 1979-80. The Blues were one of four teams that Berenson played for during his nearly 1,000 game NHL career, which also saw him play for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. Red coached the Blues for just three years and won the Jack Adams Award in 1980-81. He has been the head coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines since the 1984-85 season.

That season, the Blues finished with 107 points, 27 more than the previous year. The team finished first in the Smythe Division and powered past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before falling to the New York Rangers. The team was led by Bernie Federko, Wayne Babych, Brian Sutter and Mike Liut.

Brian Sutter 1990-91

Brian Sutter moved behind the bench when his playing career ended and became the next St. Louis coach to win the Jack Adams Award in 1990-91. With the help of Brett Hull, Adam Oates and Scott Stevens, the Blues finished with 105 points, a 22 points improvement over the previous year, good for second place in the Norris Division and second overall. St. Louis beat the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota North Stars in the second.

Sutter played his entire career in a Blues jersey, from 1976-77 to 1987-88. He coached in the National Hockey League from 1988-89 to 2003-04. After St. Louis, he coached the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks.

Joel Quenneville 1999-00

Joel Quenneville is the last St. Louis Blues head coach to win the Jack Adams Award. Quenneville won the award in 1999-00 as the Blues posted 114 points to finish first overall in the NHL. It was a 27 point improvement on the previous year. The Stanley Cup playoffs were unkind with St. Louis losing in the first round to the San Jose Sharks. Playing starring roles on the 1999-00 Blues were Pavol Demitra, Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis.

Joel played over 800 games in the NHL from 1978-79 to 1990-91 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers and Washington Capitals. He has been a head coach in the National Hockey League since 1996-97. He began with the Blues and after a stint with the Colorado Avalanche, settled in with the Chicago Blackhawks. He was behind the bench for Chicago’s Stanley Cup victories in 2009-10 and 2012-13.

 

Ken Hitchcock 2011-12

 

Hitchcock took over as head coach of the Blues during the 2011-12 season, replacing Davis Payne 13 games into the campaign. It was his first head coaching job since getting let go by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10. Ken led St. Louis to a first place tie in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers and just to points behind the Vancouver Canucks for first overall in the National Hockey League. The Blues were swept in the second round by eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings.

 

Never a player, Hitchcock got his start in coaching with the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL. The Blazers never had a losing season during Ken's six years behind the bench. He started out in the NHL in 1990-91 as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers, under head coach Paul Holmgren. Since 1995-96, Hitchcock has been a head coach in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Blues. He won a Stanley Cup championship with the Stars in 1998-99.

 

Pat Burns: Only 3 Time Winner Of The Jack Adams Award

The Jack Adams was first awarded to the NHL's top head coach for the 1973-74 season. Fred Shero was the first recipient and Pat Burns is the only three time winner. Both Shero and Burns are deceased and both were inexplicably denied entry to the Hockey Hall of Fame while still alive.

In a National Hockey League head coaching career that lasted from 1988-89 to 2003-04, Pat Burns became the only person to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach three times. The Jack Adams Award was introduced for the 1973-74 season, with Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers being the first recipient.

1988-89 Montreal Canadiens

Burns won the Jack Adams in his first year of coaching in the NHL, 1988-89. The Montreal Canadiens finished first overall in the Prince of Wales Conference and second overall in the NHL, behind only the Calgary Flames. The Canadiens and Flames met in the Stanley Cup finals with Calgary coming out victorious in six games.

1992-93 Toronto Maple Leafs

In 1992-93, in his first year as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Burns saw a 32 improvement over the previous season. In 1991-92, Toronto had finished last in the Norris Division with just 67 points. Their point total improved to 99 points under Pat and the team made it to the Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings in seven games.

1997-98 Boston Bruins

In 1997-98, in his first year as coach of the Boston Bruins, the team saw a similar turnaround that the Maple Leafs had experience under Burns. The team improved 30 points over 1996-97. The previous year was the first time Boston had failed to qualify for the post season since the 1966-67 season. The team bowed out to the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

Pat Burns

Never a player at the professional level, Burns rose quickly to prominence in the coaching world. He was behind the bench of the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for three years, from 1984-85 to 1986-87. In the second year, the Olympiques won the Jean Rougeau Trophy as regular season champions and the President’s Cup as champs in the playoffs. Pat was selected as QMJHL First Team All-Star coach.

The Olympiques qualified for the Memorial Cup that season, making it through to the final game. The Guelph Platers (today’s Owen Sound Attack) were crowned Memorial Cup champions with a 6-2 victory over Hull. Hockey Hall of Fame member Luc Robitaille was a member of that Olympiques team.

After a year coaching the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League in 1987-88, it was straight up to the NHL Canadiens. Along with coaching in Montreal, Toronto and Boston, Burns won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils, where he coached in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Along with Fred Shero, now both deceased, the Hockey Hall of Fame were under fire for denying the two entry. Shero won two Stanley Cups and was a finalist on two other occasions, as well as winning championships in three other professional league and was inducted posthumously in 2013. Pat’s qualifications for the Hall of Fame are obvious from his accomplishments stated above and is finally allowed entry for 2014.

 

NHL Hockey Trivia: Fred Shero

Fred Shero is perhaps one of the best hockey coaches to ever stand behind a bench in professional hockey. The fact that the Hockey Hall of Fame took over two decades after his death to finally honour Shero is an enormous injustice. Test and expand your knowledge of “The Fog” with the following four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. Long before he was a head coach in the National Hockey League, what NHL team did Fred Shero play for?

A. For the New York Rangers, Shero played a total of 145 regular season and 13 playoffs games between 1947-48 and 1949-50. As a defenseman, Shero totaled 22 points in the combined 158 games. Fred played pro from 1943-44 to 1957-58 in the EHL, AHL, USHL, NHL, PCHL, WHL and QHL. He was a member of consecutive Calder Cup championships in the AHL with the Cleveland Barons in 1952-53 and 1953-54. He exploded offensively with the Barons in 1953-54 with 21 goals and 53 points.

Q. Fred Shero twice coached the Stanley Cup finalists, in the form of the 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers and the 1978-79 New York Rangers. In both these occasions, what team defeated Shero’s team?

A. The Montreal Canadiens were Stanley Cup champions in four consecutive seasons from 1975-76 to 1978-79. In the first and last years of their dynasty, the Habs met and defeated team’s coached by Fred Shero. In 1975-76, the Flyers were denied their third consecutive championship, swept by the Canadiens in four games. In 1978-79, the Rangers were able to win one game against Montreal.

Q. In what year did Fred Shero win the Jack Adams Award as the top coach in the NHL?

A. Shero was the first ever recipient of the Jack Adams Award, winning in 1973-74. His Philadelphia Flyers became the first of the 1967 expansion teams to win the Stanley Cup. The Flyers were also the first non-Original 6 team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Maroons captured the championship in 1934-35.

Q. Fred Shero coached championship teams in four professional hockey leagues. What team did he lead to a Calder Cup victory in the American Hockey League?

A. Going into the 1969-70 AHL season, it was understood to be a swan-song season for the Buffalo Bisons. There wasn’t enough room at the Auditorium in Buffalo for two professional hockey teams and the Buffalo Sabres were set to start their inaugural NHL season in 1970-71. The Bisons swept the Springfield Kings to capture their fifth and final Calder Cup.