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Jack Adams Award: History, Montreal Canadiens Past Winners

The Montreal Canadiens have a surprising history with the award given to the best coaching performance.

By Nate Duffett |
Canadiens coaching legend Scotty Bowman
Canadiens coaching legend Scotty Bowman / Richard T Gagnon/GettyImages
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The Jack Adams Award winner will be announced on Wednesday, May 22nd, before the puck drop of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. This year's nominees are Rick Tocchet, Andrew Brunette, and Rick Bowness. The recently retired Rick Bowness winning the award would be a great story, but it'll be hard to vote against Rick Tocchet and his turnaround of the Vancouver Canucks. Will Martin St. Louis be a candidate for the award when he eventually leads the Canadiens back to the postseason? The last Canadiens coach to win was Pat Burns in 1988-89.

The award has been given out since 1973-74, which might make it hard to believe that a Montreal Canadiens coach has only won it twice. However, it's more of a positive for the organization than a slight. The award is rarely given to a coach who leads a good team to a successful season. It's often given to a coach who reached surprising success with a team that didn't have any expectations. The best evidence is this season's nominees, as all three share that their teams weren't expected to be as good as they were. The Canadiens are such a prestigious organization that the voters expect excellence and don't credit the coach for good results. However, after their recent run and rebuild, Martin St. Louis will be in contention if he is the one to lead them back to prominence.

Scotty Bowman, 1976-77

Scotty Bowman Holding the Stanley Cup
Scotty Bowman Holding the Stanley Cup / Ralf-Finn Hestoft/GettyImages

Scotty Bowman became the first Canadiens coach to win the Jack Adams Award. The Canadiens were a dynasty during Bowman's run, but they had no better year than 1976-77.

The Canadiens had 60 wins and 12 ties in the 80-game schedule. They went on to win the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Stanley Cup.

Bowman began coaching with the Peterborough Petes, the Canadiens' junior farm team. Bowman went to coach the expansion St. Louis Blues for a short time but eventually returned to the Canadiens in 1971.

Bowman didn't experience immediate success but won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1976 to 1979. He coached players like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, and Ken Dryden. He eventually stepped down after the 1978-79 season, leaving as second all-time in Canadiens history in wins and winning percentage behind Toe Blake.

Pat Burns, 1988-89

Pat Burns coaching Montreal
Pat Burns coaching Montreal / Graig Abel/GettyImages

Pat Burns was the second and last Canadiens coach to win the Jack Adams Award. He led the Adams Division with 53 wins and 115 points, the only team in the conference to eclipse 100 points. The Canadiens won the Prince of Wales Trophy but lost to the Calgary Flames in an All-Canadian Stanley Cup Final.

The 1988-89 season was special since it was Burns' first as a head coach. He led the Canadiens to the second round in each of his seasons but resigned after the 1991-92 season due to pressure from the media.

Burns went to the rival-Toronto Maple Leafs instead, advancing to the Conference Finals in his first season and winning the Jack Adams Trophy again.

Burns also coached with the Boston Bruins, starting in 1997, and won the award in his first season with that team. He was the first coach to win the award three times and still holds the record ahead of Bowman, Jacques Demers, Pat Quinn, and Barry Trotz who have two each.

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