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.
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