Hartley, Laviolette, Vigneault named finalists for Jack Adams Award
The NHL announced the finalists Wednesday for the Jack Adams Award, given to the league's top coach.
Either Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley, Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette or New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault will be presented with the award at a ceremony on June 24.
Hartley is in his third season with the Flames and helped lead the team to its first playoff appearance since 2009 by finishing third in the Pacific Division. Calgary won its first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks in six games and trail 2-1 in their second series after defeating the Anaheim Ducksin overtime Tuesday night.
Laviolette has coached in the NHL for 13 seasons but this was his first with the Predators. He fired by the Philadelphia Flyers after three games last season and hired to replace Barry Trotz before this season. Nashville went 47-25-10 in its first season under Laviolette, finishing with the third-most points in the Western Conference. The Preds were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Vigneault was nominated after leading the Rangers to the Presidents' Trophy, given to the team with the best regular-season record. The Rangers went 53-22-7 and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. They currently trail the Washington Capitals 2-1 in their second-round series, with Game 4 to be played Wednesday night.
Last year's winner was rookie head coach Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche.
- Dan Gartland