The St. Louis Blues almost had their first finalist for the Jack Adams Award since Craig Berube was one in 2019. Let's also not forget that Ken Hitchcock won it in the 2011-12 season. Jim Montgomery, who took over for the Blues former coach, Drew Bannister, after 22 games last season, posted a 35-18-7 record to push this team into the playoffs.
The final voting for the Jack Adams award was announced as the NHL awards start rolling out during this incredible Stanley Cup Final. Here are the results:
What Spencer Carbery and Scott Arniel did with Washington and Winnipeg, respectively, in the regular season was phenomenal. But, it begs the question whether Montgomery was snubbed of a top-three placement.
Montgomery deserved it?
It goes without saying that Martin St. Louis did a great job in Montreal. He turned that franchise around, and they will be playoff frequent flyers for years to come. But the key difference here is that St. Louis has been the head coach in Montreal for the last three and a half seasons.
Montgomery was the head coach of the Boston Bruins, with no insight into being canned and rehired when the 2024-25 season began. That kind of monumental shift is rare in the NHL, as he not only flipped teams in a matter of a week but also flipped conferences as well. He had to adapt to a new city, team, and Division, all on the fly.
Montgomery certainly deserved that top-three nomination.
Two first-place votes
The most crucial thing to note on the voting board is that Montgomery was voted to win the Jack Adams award, twice. That is an incredible sentiment about how successful this season was.
Now, the expectation is for Montgomeey to be a top-three candidate in 2025-26. With a full offseason under his belt with his new team, the sky is the limit on how much better they can be next season. Another playoff appearance, with a dominant performance in the regular season, should warrant that nomination next season for this exclusive award.