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Vancouver Canucks' Rick Tocchet wins Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year

mike brehm, usa today
·3 min read

The Vancouver Canucks came up one goal short against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round.

But Canucks coach Rick Tocchet is taking home some hardware for his role in helping his team win the Pacific Division title during the regular season. He was announced on Wednesday night as the winner of the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year.

In his first full season with the Canucks, Tocchet led Vancouver back to the playoffs with 50 wins and 109 points, ending a three-year drought. The Canucks jumped from 22nd to sixth in points.

Tocchet, who replaced Bruce Boudreau during the 2022-23 season, received 82 first-place votes and 483 points from the NHL Broadcasters' Association to edge the Nashville Predators' Andrew Brunette (145 points) and Winnipeg Jets' Rick Bowness (75).

Rick Tocchet joined the Canucks as a midseason replacement in 2022-23 and led the team to a major improvement in his first full season.
Rick Tocchet joined the Canucks as a midseason replacement in 2022-23 and led the team to a major improvement in his first full season.

The New York Rangers' Peter Laviolette and Edmonton Oilers' Kris Knoblauch rounded out the top five.

Tocchet was a first-time finalist and the third Canucks coach to win the award, joining Pat Quinn in 1991-92 and Alain Vigneault in 2006-07.

Vancouver beat the Predators in the first round and lost to the Oilers in Game 7 of the second round.

When will NHL awards winners be announced?

There will be an awards show on June 27 in Las Vegas, before the NHL draft. The winners for Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Trophy will be announced then.

Other awards will be announced earlier:

May 14: Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. Winner: New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba

May 15: Masterton Trophy for perseverance. Winner: Arizona Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram.

May 18: Selke Trophy for defensive forward. Winner: Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov.

May 22: Jack Adams Award for coach. Winner: Vancouver Canucks' Rick Tocchet.

May 28: King Clancy Trophy for humanitarian contribution. Winner: New York Islanders forward Anders Lee.

May 30: Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship

June 10: Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year

June 13: Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award

Who are the finalists for NHL awards?

Finalists listed in alphabetical order

Hart Trophy (MVP to this team, writers' vote): Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid.

Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player, players' vote): Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon and Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews

Vezina Trophy (goalie): Florida Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky, Vancouver Canucks' Thatcher Demko and Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck.

Norris Trophy (defenseman): Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes, Nashville Predators' Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar.

Calder Trophy (rookie): Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes.

Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship): Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year: Vancouver Canucks' Patrik Allvin, Dallas Stars' Jim Nill and Florida Panthers' Bill Zito.

Selke Trophy (defensive forward, in voting order): Barkov, Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal and Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Canucks' Rick Tocchet wins Jack Adams Award as top NHL coach