The Jack Adams Award

The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success."

Past 10 Winners of the Jack Adams Award:

2000-01: Bill Barber - Philadelphia Flyers

2001-02: Bob Francis - Phoenix Coyotes

2002-03: Jacques Lemaire - Minnesota Wild

2003-04: John Tortorella - Tampa Bay Lightning

2005-06: Lindy Ruff - Buffalo Sabres

2006-07: Alain Vigneault - Vancouver Canucks

2007-08: Bruce Boudreau - Washington Capitals

2008-09: Claude Julien - Boston Bruins

2009-10: Dave Tippet - Phoenix Coyotes

2010-11: Dan Bylsma - Pittsburgh Penguins

The 3 Nominees for the 2011-12 Jack Adams Award are:

John Tortorella - New Yorks Rangers

Ken Hitchcock - St. Louis Blues

Paul MacLean - Ottawa Senators

John Tortorella (left) coached the New York Rangers to the best record in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 51-24-7. That record was the best regular season record since their 1994 Stanley Cup winning season. He was featured along with the New York Rangers in the Rangers vs Flyers HBO 24/7 series which many people gained more much respect for him than they did prior to watch the TV series. Under his coaching this season the Rangers allowed the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference and led the league with 2419 hits.

Ken Hitchcock (right) replaced Davis Payne as head coach, after Payne was fired in November after a 6-7-0 start. The Blues had a record of 43-15-11 under Ken Hitchcock as he lead them to 2nd overall in the Western Conference, only behind the President Trophy winners; the Vancouver Canucks. He coached arguably the best regular season goaltending tandem in Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot. With Hitchcock behind the bench, the Blues broke 13 franchise records including, one of them being 30 wins at home.

After being an assistant coach to Mike Babcock in Detroit for 6 years, MacLean was hired by the Senators in the off-season. Paul MacLean (left) impressed everyone in the entire league and everyone who knows hockey as he was able to coach the Senators into a playoff spot. Many experts and analysts predicted that the Ottawa Senators would finished dead last in the Eastern Conference. They finished with 18 points more than last year and five places higher in the Eastern Conference as they climbed from 13th last season to 8th in 2011-12. In the first round of the playoffs, the Senators once again were impressive as they took the number 1 ranked; New York Rangers to a game 7.

My Prediction: Ken Hitchcock