Bruce Cassidy Named Finalist For 2018 Jack Adams Award

BOSTON -The National Hockey League announced today, April 25, that Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has been named a finalist for the 2018 Jack Adams Award. The award is given annually to the coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The winner is selected by a poll of the NHL Broadcasters Association at the end of the regular season, and will be announced at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 20. Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar and Vegas Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant are the other two finalists for the award.
Cassidy led the Bruins to a 50-20-12 record in his first full season behind the bench in 2017-18, good for second place in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best record in the National Hockey League. Under his guidance, the Bruins finished the year ranked in the Top 10 in the NHL in several key categories: first in wins when opponent scores first (21), second in shots allowed per game (29.3), second in shot attempts percentage (53.71), third in penalty kill percentage (83.7), tied for third in first-period goals (79), tied for third in third-period goals (95), fourth in power play percentage (23.5), fourth in goals against per game (2.57), sixth in goals per game (3.26), seventh in takeaways (682), eighth in hits (1,914), tied for eighth in shots per game (33.0) and tied for 10th in faceoff win percentage (50.7). Cassidy was also instrumental in the progression of several rookies, as first-year players accounted for an NHL-best 58 goals (21.7%) this season, eight more than the second-highest team total (Colorado, 50). Rookie forwards Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen were tied for fifth on the team with 16 goals, while rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy led all league rookies and ranked second on the team with 22:09 time on ice per game.

Cassidy served as interim head coach for the Bruins' final 33 regular and postseason games in 2017-18, compiling a 18-8-1 regular season record and propelling the team to a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Since Cassidy assumed head coaching responsibilities on February 9, the Bruins ranked first in the NHL in goals per game (3.37), first in the NHL in fewest shots allowed (741), tied for second in the NHL in wins (18), tied for second in the NHL in power play percentage (27.8%), tied for third in the NHL in goals allowed per game (2.30), tied for fifth in the NHL in faceoff percentage (53.6%) and tied for sixth in the NHL in takeaways (229). Cassidy ranks fourth in Bruins history with a .683 career winning percentage behind the Boston bench.
Before joining Boston as an assistant prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, Cassidy spent five seasons (2011-16) as head coach of the Providence Bruins, having spent the three previous seasons (2008-11) with the club as an assistant. The 52-year-old native of Ottawa, Ontario compiled a 207-128-45 overall record in 380 games at the helm, including winning seasons in all five years and postseason berths in each of his final four seasons in Providence.