Coaching styles have been evolving for more than 100 years. One thing that remains the same however, is the annual presentation of the Jack Adams Award to the coach of the year. There are several moments during the season which could have contributed to the teams success, and many more that could have the opposite effect. This article outlines a few of the best and worst coaching moments in the NHL of all time.
7. Best - Alain Vigneault And His Uncontrollable Laughter
Starting off this countdown is a Canucks favourite, Alain Vigneault. While he is known for disciplining his players through various forms of punishments such as forcing them to skate laps with weight bags tied to their skates and even benching Henrik Sedin, the captain at the time, he also has his lighthearted side. It was the third period back in February 2012 at the Dallas arena, and the Canucks head coach had a concerned look on his face. The score was tied at two and it was anyone's game. Later on, Stars forward Vernon Fiddler skated by the Vancouver bench doing an impression of Canucks defence man, Kevin Bieksa’s angry face. Right away Vigneault burst into laughter and continued on for more than twenty seconds as he put a smile on his players' faces. He tried to cover his mouth with the game sheet, but he just couldn’t stop laughing! Even though Alain Vigneault is known to have a serious reputation, he sure knows how to pick up his team's spirit.
6. Worst - Bruce Boudreau Drops 15 F Bombs
Unlike Vigneault, Bruce Boudreau is known for being a very animated coach. Sometimes he can be a little too animated, which gets him into trouble. The Washington Capitals were facing off against the Florida Panthers in 2011. The Capitals were down by one after two periods and according to Boudreau, his players didn’t have much motivation in them. What may have been intended to be an inspirational speech, turned into leaked footage of Boudreau in the locker room dropping a total of fifteen “F bombs” that went viral. Although this may have come out of anger towards his team, it’s still important to always act professional at this level of hockey with all the media these days.
Boudreau in the locker room
To see the uncensored video, see:
5. Best - Barry Trotz Skates A Hot Lap
It’s rare you’ll see a coach taking a bit of a sweat out of respect for his team. Former Washington Capitals coach and Stanley Cup Winner, Barry Trotz is one of the few. If you’re a hockey fan, then you know that the Capitals took the hockey world by surprise by even making it past the second round of the championships, let alone winning the cup back in 2018. Most fans and even the coach had little faith in his team. So at the teams first practice after their victory, he skated a quick hot lap around the rink to show just how proud he was. He said: "I was worried about the turns. The rudders haven't been sharpened all year. It was bit of a slow lap, but you're all in" (ESPN, 2018).This may not seem like that big of a deal, but it’s important to keep in mind that he was fifty-six years old. At his age and ranking in the NHL it was a really special and uplifting moment for the players.
4. Worst - An Angry John Tortorella Walks Into Flames Locker Room Hallway
John Tortorella may have coached the Vancouver Canucks for only two seasons, but his presence was definitely made memorable. He’s always stood up for his players, but one particular incident at a home game against a rival team stands out from the rest. Calgary's coach, Bob Hartley started the game with his fourth line up, which is typically filled with grinders, a.k.a. the tough guys. Usually, this is a signal that the team wants to start a fight. Tortorella countered by putting his grinder line to start as well. It took only two seconds for a brawl to ensue. All ten skaters had thrown their helmets and gloves off and were involved in a huge fight. The first period was completed, but more chaos followed. During the first intermission, John Tortorella attempted to storm into the Flames locker room demanding for an explanation. He didn’t make it all the way in, being pushed out by Calgary's forward, McGratten. Tortorella was suspended for fifteen games, but he did however manage to get the attention of the NHL, who later came to an agreement to fine Hartley $25,000 for unsportsmanlike reasons. Yet, many say that he could have handled the problem in a more professional way.
See the inciting moment here:
3. Best - Craig Berube Leads Blues From Last To First
Naturally, you’d expect the Stanley Cup champions to be at the top of their tier. It just so happened to be the opposite for the St. Louis Blues. It was about half way through the 2018-19 season in January and the Blues were dead last in the entire league. Their head coach had just been fired and a replacement had been called up. Having minimal experience as a coach in the NHL, people could only wonder if Craig Berube would make the situation better or worse. With many doubts and few tools in his hands, Berube sculpted the Blues into the ultimate dream team. They started to win more games and raise their spirits. Fast forward to June when Alex Pietrangelo, the captain of the team, was raising the Stanley Cup. It takes a special kind of coach to ignite the fire in a team that late into the season, and at that point, fans were praying for some kind of miracle. That miracle came in the form of Craig Berube. Recognized for bringing St. Louis to the finals for the first time since 1970, he was also nominated for the Jack Adams award.
2. Worst - Referee Takes Punch From Jack Adams
Winning the Stanley Cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not only has Jack Adams won the cup as a player, and twice more as a coach and a general manager, but he won a total of nine times! Demonstrating outstanding skills as a player, phenomenal leadership as a coach, and wise decision making as a manager Adams had it all. One of his many nicknames was “Jolly Jack”, but there were some of his actions that weren’t very “jolly”. Jack was known for confronting referees, even if it meant looking bad on T.V. Many fans can recall him barging into the officials change room since he felt that their calls were biased. He even took it a step further to punch a linesman later on. During the third game in the 1942 Stanley Cup finals, Adams was outraged at what he felt were unreasonable penalties which led to a physical fight. Jack Adams was the first coach to be suspended in the league, and his team ended up loosing the series, despite their 3-0 lead. Even though his work in the NHL started in the late 1900’s, he is still a symbolic figure for all hockey fans out there.
Jack Adams as a coach with Gordie "Mr.Hockey" Howe
1. Best - Roger Neilson Raises White "Flag"
Throughout this list many coaches have been mentioned doing things that would be deemed unacceptable. Nevertheless there will always be that one situation that’s in the grey area and quite controversial. Take Roger Neilson for example. This event takes place during the 1982 playoffs at a road trip game against Chicago. The referees were clearly making terrible call after call and even the Blackhawks fans could see it. Most coaches would have a quick chat with the officials and let it go. But Neilson believed his team wasn’t getting the justice they deserved and were being treated unfairly. After Chicago scored a goal on a two man advantage, Neilson put a white towel on a player's stick and surrendered before getting ejected from the game. Neilson dealt with the situation in a non-violent and civil manner. The following home game, the Vancouver arena was filled with white towels in support of Neilson's actions. This not only created the slogan “towel power”, but also was the start of a new tradition league wide. Every playoff game, fans of the home team take out white towels and wave them around as a symbol of good luck and spreading cheer.
Neilson's iconic statue outside Rogers Arena
Overall, having a bad temper doesn’t necessarily make you a bad coach. Some of these coaches were put in similar situations, they just had different ways of dealing with their emotions and attitude. Each reaction, is what made each coach unique and memorable in his own way. Whether it was positive, or not, these were a few of the best and worst NHL coaching moments of all time.
For more information on this topic, see:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1053089-nhl-10-best-coaches-of-the-past-20-years
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/922887-the-10-worst-coaches-in-nhl-history
Sources (references and images):
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/10324902/vancouver-canucks-coach-john-tortorella-suspended-calgary-flames-coach-bob-hartley-fined-brawl-roles
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.inquirer.com/flyers/craig-berube-blues-stanley-cup-final-flyers-coach-20190527.html%3foutputType=amp
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/amp.courierpostonline.com/amp/4297532002
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/797869/amp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ppRR13je0
https://youtu.be/mQuOu4OwswI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0u0QWjmCkw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOjWuviST3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8oBzKfP2jc&t=75s
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