The argument could have been made for Brind'Amour to receive recognition in either of his first two seasons as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, especially in 2018-19, when he led the team to a second-half resurgence and its first playoff berth in a decade.
Now, though, is the time for Brind'Amour to receive his due, and there is no better choice for the Jack Adams Award this year, something that 17 of 28 NHL general managers
polled by The Athletic
agreed with.
Let's dive right into the stats.
Pretty solid resume, right?
If that's not enough, here's what his players have to say.
Vincent Trocheck: "He's been incredible. I can't really say enough great things about Roddy. He's been awesome to play for, one of my favorite coaches to play for ever. He brings passion to the game. He's a great player's coach. He makes sure we're all prepared every night. Even just coming into the locker room before the game giving his pregame speeches, it seems like every night he has something new to fire us up. Every game, like how does he keep doing it? He comes in here and makes me want to run through a brick wall night in and night out. He's been awesome."
Sebastian Aho: "He's honest. He can be tough, but he's fair. You know he can expect players to work for him because he does that for the players. He probably puts the most work in of any coaches. He's a great leader for us. … You ask every player on our team and any people in our organization, and they could say [he deserves the award]. His impact for this organization and team and individuals is huge. The work he puts in and the leadership, the whole culture is pretty much him. It's been awesome having him as a coach for the past three years."
Nino Niederreiter: "He's definitely a terrific coach. We're very fortunate to have him. The whole coaching staff prepares us very well for each and every game. There's no doubt he should be in consideration for what he has done since he's been here."
Brady Skjei: "He's an unbelievable guy first. He's a guy you want to play for and a guy you want to win for. He treats everyone with respect. If I had a vote, I'd definitely pick him."
Warren Foegele: "I don't think it's just this year. The last three years he's been unbelievable. You can see how every single guy on this team rallies behind Rod. It's an absolute pleasure to play for him. We all respect him so much."
Jordan Staal: "He's been an unbelievable coach since he started. … He's a very good person, a great coach and a great role model. The details of coaching are there, as well. He knows how to push guys. He understands the game because he played the game. He has the respect of the room. He's got everything. It showed this year in how we played in a group for him."
That about says it all, no?
