Adams Award finalists announced

Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings, Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens are the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach who has "contributed the most to his team's success," the National Hockey League announced Wednesday.

The award was first presented by the NHL Broadcasters' Association in 1974 in honor of the late Jack Adams, longtime coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.

Mike Babcock, Detroit Red Wings

Babcock

Babcock posted his third consecutive 50-win season behind the Detroit bench as the Red Wings, leading the NHL with a 54-21-7 and 115 points and capturing the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team. The Red Wings set an NHL record for most first-half victories, posting a 30-8-3 mark through 41 games, and went on to surpass the 100-point mark for the eighth consecutive season — equaling Montreal's record streak from 1974-75 through 1981-82.

Detroit also won its seventh consecutive division title and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 17th consecutive season, the longest active streak among the four major pro team sports.

Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals

Boudreau

Boudreau brought more than 1,000 games of minor-league coaching experience to his first NHL assignment behind the bench and led the Capitals to one of the most dramatic turnarounds in League history. He replaced Glen Hanlon on Nov. 22 with the Capitals last in the Eastern Conference at 6-14-1, Boudreau led his club to a 37-17-7 mark the rest of the way -- capped by seven consecutive victories to close the season -- and captured the Southeast Division title in the season's final game.

Boudreau became the fastest coach to 20 victories (34 games) and 30 victories (53 games) in franchise history.

Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens

Carbonneau

In his second NHL season behind the bench, Carbonneau guided the Canadiens to a 47-25-10 record for 104 points, their first 45-win and 100-point season in 15 years, first division title in 17 years and first Eastern Conference title in 19 years. Their 25-12-4 road record was the Canadiens’ best in 29 years.

Led by Alex Kovalev's 84-point season -- an increase of 37 over 2006-07 -- the Canadiens were the NHL's highest-scoring club in 2007-08 with 262 goals and boasted the League's top-ranked power-play (90 for 372, 24.2%). Montreal went 25-9 following a loss and did not lose more than three consecutive games all season.