It is the time for the hockey season when playoff matchups are getting set and the media are getting their picks for end-of-the-year awards. This time we are looking at the best first-year coach in the NHL and the Jack Adams award winner.
The best first-year coach, so far, has been Montreal Canadiens interim coach Martin St. Louis. Although he has no previous coaching experience, he has a wealth of hockey knowledge and has been through the most intense hockey that one could be involved in.
He has taken that lack of experience and used that as an advantage to use his coaching method to bring the best out of the Canadians. Winger Cole Caufield was struggling last season, but under St. Louis, he has thrived in the new opportunity and is having a career year.
After the previous coach, Dominic Ducharme was fired on February 9, 2022, St. Louis was introduced as the interim bench boss. He got his first coaching win on February 17 against his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here’s the best first-year coach and the Jack Adams Award winner.
St. Louis is used to playing against the odds his entire career and he is also using that technique as the Canadiens are playing against all odds. St. Louis is letting them play free, let loose kind of hockey. He is letting them have fun as the season winds down and nothing left to play for.
He is progressing in his new role and should have the interim label removed and be introduced as the new head coach of the legendary franchise.
As St. Louis is beginning his coaching career, there is one coach who is deserving of an award strictly for coaches. The Jack Adams Award is given to the coach who leads his team without having much to work with, performing well above expectations.
This season that award goes to Los Angeles Kings coach Todd McLellan. Coming into the season much was not expected of the Kings, basically a season of watching the kids develop. While that has happened, the Kings as a whole have played playoff hockey all season. With that type of play comes injuries and the team would soon learn the injuries would come quick.
With half of the roster from opening night on injured reserve, McLellan would coach his best during that stretch. Having kids come up from AHL affiliate Ontario Reign and putting lines together was not easy. Coach McLellan used this to his advantage and players adapted quickly to his approach.
Coach McLellan began coaching the Kings in the 2019-20 season. Although the Kings did not make the playoffs his first two seasons behind the bench, he has his team believing in a playoff spot this year. The Kings are currently in third place in the Pacific Division and looking good to secure a playoff spot.
The Kings had 32 injury transactions this season, most of those coming from players on the main roster. With a different lineup and different lines every game, Coach McLellan used his experience to get the players to buy into the task at hand for players who were dressed. During his 3 years coaching the Kings his overall record is 92-90-23, with 42 wins coming this year, in 205 games.
The Kings finished 7th in his first year, 6th in his second year, and are 3rd this season. With everything the team has gone through, Coach McLellan has this team focused going down the stretch. Doing the most with the least, McLellan is the Jack Adams Award winner.
St. Louis and McLellan have been the best first-year coach in the NHL and Jack Adams Award winner as the season winds down to concentrate on the playoff push.