Cassidy coached the Bruins (50-20-12, 112 points) to a fourth-place finish in the NHL standings and their fourth-highest point total in 40 years. Boston was 22-12-7 on the road, third in the League behind the Nashville Predators (25-9-7) and Tampa Bay Lightning (25-13-3), and its 13-game road point streak (11-0-2) from Dec. 13-Feb. 11 was the fifth-longest in its history. Cassidy is a first-time finalist vying to become the fourth Bruins coach to win the award, following Don Cherry (1975-76), Pat Burns (1997-98) and Claude Julien (2008-09).
Gallant coached the Golden Knights to an historic season for a first-year team. Vegas (51-24-7, 109 points) was the first modern-era expansion team from any of the four North American professional sports leagues to start from scratch and win its division. Eleven Golden Knights players had NHL career highs in points, including forward
William Karlsson
, who had 78 points (43 goals, 35 assists) after getting 25 (six points, 19 assists) with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. Gallant is a Jack Adams Award finalist for the second time; he was runner-up to Barry Trotz (Washington Capitals) when coaching the Florida Panthers in 2015-16.
History
The award was 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.
Announcement Schedule
The three finalists for NHL Trophies are being announced by NBC Sports in the United States and Sportsnet/TVA Sports in Canada during pregame programming for the Stanley Cup Playoffs through Monday, April 30. The series of announcements continues on Thursday, April 26, when the National Hockey League Players' Association reveals the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award.
2018 NHL Awards™ presented by Hulu
The 2018 NHL Awards™ presented by Hulu will be held Wednesday, June 20, at The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's state-of-the-art concert and entertainment venue. It marks the second year that the NHLAwards™ will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, home to world-class entertainment, dining and party hotspots as well as concerts and special events. NBCSN and Sportsnet will broadcast the event live in the United States and Canada, respectively, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
A full lineup of presenters and entertainment will be announced at a later date. Fans can tweet about the event using the official hashtag #NHLAwards.
