To mark the beginning of the 2024-25 regular season, NHL.com is running its first installment of the Trophy Tracker series. Today, we look at the race for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the top coach in the NHL as selected in a vote by the NHL Broadcasters' Association.
Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils needed a new start.
Now they have each other and the pace has been breathtaking through training camp and the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal in Prague, where New Jersey starts the regular season against the Buffalo Sabres at O2 Arena on Friday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) and Saturday (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B).
Like everyone in the NHL, the goal is the Stanley Cup. First for Keefe and the Devils is getting out of the gate quickly.
"What I learned about our group, we're still learning for sure, but guys want to learn, get better and want to build something sustainable here, recognizing it's not going to happen overnight," Keefe said Monday. "We're asking more of them in lots of different ways [and] doing all of that in a new environment, not just for myself."
A panel of 16 NHL.com voters have Keefe the preseason favorite for the Jack Adams Award. He received 50 voting points, including three votes for first place on a ballot that saw 24 of the 32 NHL coaches each get at least one vote and 10 receive at least one first-place vote. Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators (31 votes, one first place) was second, followed by Craig Berube of the Toronto Maple Leafs (20, two first place).
Keefe was hired May 23, replacing Travis Green, who finished the season as coach after Lindy Ruff had been fired March 4. The Devils (38-39-5), looking to improve from a seventh-place finish in the Metropolitan Division last season, focused on improving defensively after allowing 3.43 goals per game last season. They acquired goalie Jacob Markstrom in a trade with the Calgary Flames and signed defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon.
This is a team general manager Tom Fitzgerald said July 1 he thinks fans will be proud of. It's now on Keefe and the coaching staff to blend the new names with the established core of forwards Jack Hughes, captain Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt, and defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who is back after missing the final 62 games of the season because of a torn pectoral muscle.
"You have a new coach, so things change for sure," Hughes said. "But I think we're buzzing through it and getting through the systems of it, and the ideas."
Confidence is high it will be sustainable, especially since Keefe's systems helped the Toronto Maple Leafs reach the playoffs in each of his five seasons there. While his style of play may have run its course in Toronto, Keefe has brought those experiences, good and bad, with him to New Jersey.
"Expectations only come when they're earned and we haven't earned them yet," Keefe said. "Having clear communication and setting the expectations very early is important to me, and what we're attempting to do. The key is working together toward making sure our actions match our ambitions on a daily basis."
NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1- basis): Sheldon Keefe, Devils, 50 points (3 first-place votes); Andrew Brunette, Predators, 31 (1 first-place vote); Craig Berube, Maple Leafs, 20 (2 first-place votes); Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres, 19 (3 first-place votes); Andre Tourigny, Utah Hockey Club, 19 (1 first-place vote); Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning, 16 (2 first-place votes); Kris Knoblauch, Edmonton Oilers, 14; Dan Bylsma, Seattle Kraken, 10 (1 first-place vote); Pete DeBoer, Dallas Stars, 9 (1 first-place vote); Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche, 7 (1 first-place vote); Travis Green, Ottawa Senators, 7; Patrick Roy, New York Islanders, 7; Paul Maurice, Florida Panthers, 5 (1 first-place vote); Derek Lalonde, Detroit Red Wings, 4; Scott Arniel, Winnipeg Jets, 4; Rick Tocchet, Vancouver Canucks, 3; Jim Montgomery, Boston Bruins, 3; Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals, 3; John Hynes, Minnesota Wild, 3; Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes, 2; Peter Laviolette, New York Rangers, 1; John Tortorella, Philadelphia Flyers, 1; Greg Cronin, Anaheim Ducks, 1; Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights, 1.
