Rod Brind’Amour named Jack Adams Finalist

In his three years as the Hurricanes’ head coach, Rod Brind’Amour has been instrumental in transforming the team from a perennial afterthought to true contender. This season, he’ll have a chance to take home some hardware to honor his efforts.

The NHL announced the Friday that Brind’Amour, Joel Quenneville of the Florida Panthers and Dean Evason of the Minnesota Wild are the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the NHL’s coach of the year.

This season, Brind’Amour led the Hurricanes to their first division title since 2005-06, and clearly has captured the respect of his players in his time as the team’s head coach.

“First of all, a great coach,” said Canes captain Jordan Staal. “He’s got it figured out. He knows how to push buttons, he knows how to get the best out of everyone. He knows how to relay a good message of how to play. And then just in general, as a person, he’s a guy I look up to in all aspects of life, the way he carries himself and what he does day to day. The way he treats people. He’s just a good dude. He’s a huge, if not one of the main reasons why we are where we are as a group.”

Brind’Amour is the team’s first Jack Adams finalist since Peter Laviolette in 2005-06 (Brind’Amour captained that team). He’s also the team’s third award finalist of this season, as Alex Nedeljkovic is up for the Calder, while Jaccob Slavin is a top-three candidate for the Lady Byng.

The official release from the team on Brind’Amour follows:

BRIND’AMOUR NAMED JACK ADAMS AWARD FINALIST

Led the Hurricanes to their first division title since 2005-06

RALEIGH, NC – The National Hockey League today announced that Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour has been selected as one of the three finalists for the 2020-21 Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year. The other finalists for the Jack Adams Award are Minnesota Wild Head Coach Dean Evason and Florida Panthers Head Coach Joel Quenneville. The winner will be announced during the Stanley Cup Semifinals or Stanley Cup Final, with date and time to be determined.

Brind’Amour, 50, was named Hurricanes head coach on May 8, 2018, and in his first three seasons behind the bench, he has led the team to a 120-66-20 record. His .631 points percentage is the highest by a head coach in franchise history. Brind’Amour is the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to three consecutive playoff berths, and the Hurricanes have won a postseason series in each of those seasons. Carolina ranked third in the NHL with a 36-12-8 record in 2020-21, marking the highest single season points percentage in franchise history (.714). The Hurricanes also won the Central Division for their fifth division title in franchise history and the first since 2005-06. They were the only NHL team to rank in the top three on both the power play (25.6%) and penalty kill (85.2%), marking the first time in franchise history that the team finished top-five in both categories.

Brind’Amour recorded his 100th career NHL/Hurricanes win against Detroit on March 4, in just his 173rd game as a head coach, becoming the 12th-fastest coach in NHL history and the fastest in franchise history to reach the milestone. He earned a 5-6 record during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he now ranks second in franchise playoff history in both games coached (34) and wins (17). His .500 career postseason win percentage (17-17) is also tied for the second-highest in franchise history. Brind’Amour is the third Jack Adams Award finalist in franchise history, joining Jack Evans (1986-87) and Peter Laviolette (2005-06). Both Evans and Laviolette finished as the runner-up.

As a player, Brind’Amour played 1,484 NHL games with St. Louis, Philadelphia and Carolina from 1989-2010 and officially retired on June 30, 2010. Drafted ninth overall by the Blues in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Brind’Amour completed his career ranked 16th in NHL history in games played, 44th in assists (732), 46th in points (1,184) and 54th in goals (452). He was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team in 1990 and played in the 1992 NHL All-Star Game. Brind’Amour won back-to-back Frank J. Selke trophies as the NHL’s top defensive forward in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Acquired by the Hurricanes from the Flyers on Jan. 23, 2000, Brind’Amour ranks second in career points since the franchise’s relocation to North Carolina, with 473 points (174g, 299a) in 694 games played. He also ranks second in assists, third in shorthanded goals (10), fourth in goals and third in power-play goals (60) in Hurricanes history. Brind’Amour ranks third in franchise history in assists, fourth in points and fifth in games played. Named Carolina’s captain prior to the 2005-06 season, Brind’Amour recorded 70 points (31g, 39a) that season to lead the team to a franchise-record 52 regular-season wins. He also set the franchise record for goals in a single postseason with a league-leading 12 playoff goals in 2006 as he led the team to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.