Dallas Stars’ Lindy Ruff Has Competition In Jack Adams Race
By Josh Clark
Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff is one of three finalists nominated for the Jack Adams Award. There is definitely not an easy path for him to winning the award.
As the NHL continues its 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff endeavors trying to determine an ultimate winner, the Dallas Stars and 25 other teams are preparing for a long and eventful offseason.
Once the Stanley Cup is officially passed on to the next champion, the most recent event following on the NHL agenda is the annual NHL Awards show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards will be held on Wednesday, June 22.
At this annual awards banquet, the NHL hands out awards such as the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy, Rocket Richard Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, and even the Jack Adams Award.
Last season, the Dallas Stars sent Jamie Benn to the awards show to claim his rightfully earned Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points at the end of the season with 87. They also had Patrick Eaves nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, but he did not end up being one of the three finalists that received invitations to Las Vegas.
The reason the Stars did not have many nominations or earned trophies last year may have simply been due to the fact that they performed at a subpar level for the majority of the year. With a lacking defense and ineffective goaltending setup, Dallas fell seven points short of the final playoff wild card spot once the regular season ended.
This year was an entirely different story. With the firepower offense stronger than ever before, and an improved defensive core and goaltending tandem, the Dallas Stars took the NHL by storm. This season, the Stars finished 50-23-9 with 109 points, a 17 point increase from the year before.
The Stars finished the regular season as the top team in not only the Central Division, but also the Western Conference. They entered the postseason for just the second time in eight years, and looked poised to make a serious run.
Dallas maneuvered their way to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they eventually fell in a hard-fought seven game series to the St. Louis Blues. The exit from the postseason race was painful for the Stars, but it does not take away from the outstanding things they accomplished this season.
And with those accomplishments comes recognition. Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff was nominated as one of the three finalists for the Jack Adams award after his wonderful season as the Stars’ bench boss.
Ruff is a strong candidate and has a good shot at winning the award. He helped carry the Dallas Stars from outside the postseason bubble to the top of the inside in a matter of one season. Under Ruff’s watch, the Stars scored the most goals of any team in the NHL with 265, which averages out to 3.23 per game.
Sure, Lindy Ruff has a strong case for the title, but he has two other coaches who have just as good a shot at the award as he does. The other two candidates are Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals and Gerard Gallant of the Florida Panthers.
After being fired by the Nashville Predators following the 2013-2014 season, Trotz joined the Washington Capitals organization and made an immediate impact. He led the Caps back to the playoffs last season, but this season was another epic bounce back for Washington.
The Caps ended up winning the President’s Trophy this year for most points in the league, posting a record of 56-18-8 with 120 points. They were second overall in goals scored, but took the first spot overall in the Eastern Conference going into the postseason. The Caps were eliminated in the second round in six games by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Gerard Gallant, on the other hand, helped the Florida Panthers shock the NHL this season. Though the Panthers don’t possess many superstar names on their roster, that did not stop Gallant from helping carry them to the first overall seed in the Atlantic Division this year. The Panthers qualified for the playoffs for just the second time in the past 15 years, posting a record of 47-26-9.
The Panthers would eventually fall to the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. But with the team they put on show this season, they should be considered armed and dangerous going forward.
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Each of these coaches was playoff bound this season and each one helped lead their team to a division championship. It’s not going to be easy trying to decide which coach deserves it the most. All three coaches are basically boasting one monumental achievement from this season that helped them gain the nomination.
Lindy Ruff: Led Stars to Central Division and Western Conference titles, helped them back to playoffs after missing out in 2014-2015
Barry Trotz: Helped lead Capitals to league’s best record and President’s Trophy
Gerard Gallant: Took team without a stacked mass of talent and led them to Atlantic Division title and playoff berth.
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We’ll just have to wait until June to see who wins the award. Until then, you can hypothesize and assume all you please.