This Year's Jack Adams Award

The thing I like about the NHL Awards is the discussion and reasoning that occurs not only leading up to the end of the season but even in the early stages. As a non-member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association these are basically the only steps of the process where my opinion is valid in any way. For instance, I could pose my argument for why John Tavares should have received the Hart Trophy in one video clip that happened in February with:

I use this clip because it shows an Islanders team, with a history of under-performing, becoming upset at a loss they feel they should have won. John Tavares has a look in his eyes that seems to display his frustration in himself for not doing more. The team would go from 14th place in the East at the time of this video to 8th come playoff time and a lot of that has to do with the drive of Tavares. Of course, Alex Ovechkin took the honors with his stellar performance in the latter half of the season which elevated his team into playoff contention and a division championship.

When it comes to higher-ups, though, things get a little more dicey. It takes years to realize the impact a General Manager has on any particular team and a coach's decisions many not manifest immediately or even visibly on the ice. But I want to send a nod out to this year's Jack Adams Award winner, which is awarded to the "NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success" by the NHL Broadcaster's Association.

This year, Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators was distinguished with this particular piece of hardware and I couldn't agree more that he was the most deserving. And the reason for this is that he was tested almost all season by the injuries that piled up on his roster. Guillaume Latendresse starts a rotation of illness and injury beginning January 25. On January 27, 8 days after the start of the regular season, Ottawa would lose Jason Spezza, their top line center, to back issues resulting in surgery that wouldn't see him play until the second round of the playoffs. On February 13, reigning Norris winner Erik Karlsson suffered a deep cut to the Achilles heel. On February 21, number one goaltender Craig Anderson would be out of the lineup until April 7.

Now I can't say that it happens very often that one team will lose all their top players in the same time frame so maybe that is credit enough for a coach with a bunch of rag-tag fill-ins to make it to a seventh seed in the playoffs and a round two appearance. But I look at this award in this instance not only as a win for Paul MacLean but as recognition of the entire Ottawa/Binghamton Organization. I learned early on in the season, probably in light of the roster losses that the NHL Senators incurred, that the coaches of both the NHL and AHL teams employ the same systems because of the possibility that any AHL player could be called up to the pro squad.

There were players like Mika Zibanejad, Patrick Wiercioch, Eric Gryba, and back-up goaltender Ben Bishop, the latter of whom received a starting position in Tampa, to step up into expanded roles early on. The Senators even benefited from performances such by Jean-Gabriel Pageau who scored his first career playoff point as the first goal in a hat trick. Part of the equation is the inherent skill these players have and their ability to rise to this level of play. But few coaches could help their teams bounce back from even one of the losses Paul MacLean had on his roster. There is a level of familiarity one must have with the tools at his disposal in order to have success in this league and Ottawa had a brilliant opportunity to showcase the organizational depth they have from the top down.

So congratulations to you, Paul MacLean, and congratulations to the entire coaching staffs of the Ottawa Senators and Binghamton Senators. Your ability to adapt in difficult circumstances shows us all that a little bit of preparation can make one team's Plan B and Plan C look more polished than another's Plan A.