The Jack Adams Award is given annually to a head coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success” in the National Hockey League (NHL). The award acknowledges the coach's impact on his team's success and factors like leadership, motivation, and decision-making that contribute to the overall success of the team are considered.
The award is named after Jack Adams, a former player turned coach and general manager in the NHL. The Jack Adams award was introduced during the 1973-1974 season and the selection of the award involves voting by the NHL Broadcasters' Association at the end of the regular season.
Jack Adams Award Winners List
Introduced in 1973-1974, the Jack Adam award has been awarded 48 times to 40 coaches since its inception. Pat Burns is the only head coach who has claimed the Jack Adams award thrice while Jacques Demers, Scotty Bowman, and Barry Trotz share the record of winning this award two times each.
The first head coach to receive this honour was Fred Shero, head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and the recent winner of the Jack Adams award is Jim Montgomery, who is serving as a head coach for the Boston Bruins presently.
Shown below is a list of individuals who have won this prestigious award:
| Season | Winner | Team |
| 1973–74 | Fred Shero | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 1974–75 | Bob Pulford | Los Angeles Kings |
| 1975–76 | Don Cherry | Boston Bruins |
| 1976–77 | Scotty Bowman | Montreal Canadiens |
| 1977–78 | Bobby Kromm | Detroit Red Wings |
| 1978–79 | Al Arbour | New York Islanders |
| 1979–80 | Pat Quinn | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 1980–81 | Red Berenson | St. Louis Blues |
| 1981–82 | Tom Watt | Winnipeg Jets |
| 1982–83 | Orval Tessier | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 1983–84 | Bryan Murray | Washington Capitals |
| 1984–85 | Mike Keenan | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 1985–86 | Glen Sather | Edmonton Oilers |
| 1986–87 | Jacques Demers | Detroit Red Wings |
| 1987–88 | Jacques Demers | Detroit Red Wings |
| 1988–89 | Pat Burns | Montreal Canadiens |
| 1989–90 | Bob Murdoch | Winnipeg Jets |
| 1990–91 | Brian Sutter | St. Louis Blues |
| 1991–92 | Pat Quinn | Vancouver Canucks |
| 1992–93 | Pat Burns | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 1993–94 | Jacques Lemaire | New Jersey Devils |
| 1994–95 | Marc Crawford | Quebec Nordiques |
| 1995–96 | Scotty Bowman | Detroit Red Wings |
| 1996–97 | Ted Nolan | Buffalo Sabres |
| 1997–98 | Pat Burns | Boston Bruins |
| 1998–99 | Jacques Martin | Ottawa Senators |
| 1999–00 | Joel Quenneville | St. Louis Blues |
| 2000–01 | Bill Barber | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 2001–02 | Bobby Francis | Phoenix Coyotes |
| 2002–03 | Jacques Lemaire | Minnesota Wild |
| 2003–04 | John Tortorella | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 2004–05 | Not Awarded due to NHL lockout | |
| 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 Tippett | Phoenix Coyotes |
| 2010–11 | Dan Bylsma | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 2011–12 | Ken Hitchcock | St. Louis Blues |
| 2012–13 | Paul MacLean | Ottawa Senators |
| 2013–14 | Patrick Roy | Colorado Avalanche |
| 2014–15 | Bob Hartley | Calgary Flames |
| 2015–16 | Barry Trotz | Washington Capitals |
| 2016–17 | John Tortorella | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 2017–18 | Gerard Gallant | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 2018–19 | Barry Trotz | New York Islanders |
| 2019–20 | Bruce Cassidy | Boston Bruins |
| 2020–21 | Rod Brind'Amour | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 2021–22 | Darryl Sutter | Calgary Flames |
| 2022–23 | Jim Montgomery | Boston Bruins |
Teams With Most Jack Adams Award Winners
There have been teams like the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers who have produced the most Jack Adams Award winners. The Boston Bruins secured their record breaking fifth win when their current head Jim Montgomery won the award in 2023.
A list of teams with the most Jack Adams Award Winners is shown below:
| Teams | No. of Winners |
| Boston Bruins | 5 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 4 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 4 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 4 |
FAQ's On List of NHL Jack Adams Award Winners
A. Pat Burns is the only head coach who has claimed the Jack Adams award thrice while Jacques Demers, Scotty Bowman, and Barry Trotz share the record of winning this award two times each.
A. The award is given annually to the head coach in the National Hockey League who has contributed the most to his team's success.
A. The Jack Adams Award was introduced to honor Hall of Famer Jack Adams, former coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.
A. The recent winner of the Jack Adams Award was Jim Montgomery, head coach of the Boston Bruins.
A. Dave Hakstol of the Seattle Kraken, Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins and Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils were the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award in 2023. Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins managed to win this award.
