Spencer Carbery was deserving of the 2024-2025 Jack Adams award, but San Jose Sharks broadcaster Randy Hahn had him second on his ballot.
The Coach of the Year award is the only award voted on by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. The definition of the Jack Adams award is “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.”
For Hahn, putting Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper as his first-place vote is part “personal crusade” and part fact. Cooper finished seventh in voting and received two votes for first place.
The broadcasters’ ballots are not made public, but Hahn was generous to share his with SHD.
1st- Jon Cooper
2nd- Spencer Carbery
3rd- Scott Arniel
“Spencer Carberry had a great season, and congratulations to him for winning the Coach of the Year,” Hahn told SHD over the phone. “I’ve been on just a [small] personal crusade. I’m not making a big deal out of it, but I just don’t think it’s right that John Cooper has never won Coach of the Year. He’s arguably the best coach in the NHL.”
If an average NHL fan were randomly asked who the top three coaches in the NHL would be, Cooper would be on that list. Cooper is the head coach of Team Canada and a two-time Stanley Cup Champion. Cooper’s Lightning have finished with 45 wins or more in nine of the 12 seasons he’s been in charge.
The Bolts won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. Cooper has dealt with significant roster turnover and major injuries, yet the Lightning are always viewed as contenders.
“Look at his track [record], even what he’s done [recently]. He lost [Mikhail] Sergachev. Then he lost [Steven] Stamkos, and they just keep on ticking,” said the voice of the Sharks. “He’s still got great players, right? Arguably, the best player in the regular season this year was [Nikita] Kucherov. He continues to squeeze amazing results out of his team.”
Hahn included 4-Nations as part of his decision
Jon Cooper led Team Canada to a 4-Nations Face-Off gold medal this season. Hahn emphasized that the event was an NHL event, which is why he included it in his decision.
“I know we’re not supposed to include the playoffs from the prior year in our evaluation, but when is the best coaching in this league done? The best coaching is done in the playoffs. Those are the biggest moments. Those are when the greatest adjustments can turn a series,” Hahn said. “Cooper has the pedigree of that with the two cups, now a Four Nations Tournament win within the regular season. It was an NHL tournament. It wasn’t an IIHF tournament. I think he deserves some credit for winning the Four Nations Cup within my evaluation of him this year.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning have an aging core, yet somehow Cooper continues to have his team hum along every season. In a league where the coaching turnover rate is high, Cooper is the longest tenured coach in the league.
“I think on body of work, Jon Cooper deserves to have his name on that trophy,” Randy Hahn said.
Hahn says the Jack Adams winner criteria has changed
Randy Hahn enjoys voting on the Jack Adams Award every season, but the San Jose Sharks broadcaster says he feels how it’s won has changed.
“There’s some middle ground here. I’m afraid what’s happened, and I don’t think it’s right, to the award and the broadcasters, it’s become the ‘oh, I didn’t see that coming award,” Hahn said. “It’s who overachieved.”
The Sharks’ play-by-play man isn’t trying to ruffle any feathers, but he’s got a point. The 2024 winner was Rick Tocchet, who got the Vancouver Canucks a division title. In 2023, Jim Montgomery won for having the best regular season in NHL history with the Boston Bruins.
Since Cooper took over in 2012, only Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour remains as the head coach of the same team for which he won the Jack Adams Award.
Carbery was deserving of the award this year. Hahn agreed with that and voted for him second for that reason. However, the San Jose Sharks’ longtime broadcaster believes Cooper deserves the award and is perplexed as to why he has never won it.
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