Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy wins Jack Adams award
The return to the NHL for Patrick Roy was a rousing success as the Colorado Avalanche head coach was honored for his role behind the bench as the Jack Adams award winner as the coach who “contributed the most to his team’s success” at the NHL Awards show on Tuesday evening from Las Vegas.
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Roy led the Avalanche to the top seed in the Western Conference with 112 points this season one year after they had the No. 1 pick which they used on Nathan MacKinnon who won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie earlier on the night, but fell to the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs.
Roy beat out Mike Babcock from the Detroit Red Wings and Jon Cooper from the Tampa Bay Lightning who also was in his first year behind the bench.
Patrick Roy adds to his collection. Here's his first as a coach. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/uzg5fZIfEn
— NHL (@NHL) June 25, 2014
The Avalanche also saw Ryan O’Reilly take home the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the player who showed the most sportsmanship and gentlemenly play.
One of the best goalies to ever lace up the skates, Roy proved that he was up to the challenge to be a head coach in the NHL and with a young and talented roster, the Avalanche should be a player in a loaded Western Conference that features the last four Stanley Cup winners in the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings.
Four coaches have won the award named after Jack Adams, a Hall of Fame player for Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa, and the long-time coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.
Pat Burns who was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday is the only three-time winner of the coach of the year award that has been awarded since the 1973–74 regular season.