The Boston Bruins postseason may have ended abruptly, but that shouldn't take away from the historic 2022-23 season the club had and at the helm of it all -- head coach Jim Montgomery.
On Friday, the NHL named Montgomery one of the three finalists for the 2022-23 Jack Adams Award given to the coach who contributed most to his team's success.
As the Bruins' bench boss, Montgomery led Boston to the Presidents' Trophy with a record of 65-12-5 for 135 points, both of which set new NHL records. Montgomery now holds the NHL record for most wins by a coach in his first season with a team eclipsing the previous record of 58 games by Mike Babcock in his first year with the Detroit Red Wings in 2005-06.
Along with those single-season records, Montgomery helped lead the Bruins to become the fastest team in NHL history to 100 points and 50 wins, as well as setting a new NHL record with 14 straight home wins to start the season.
Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol and New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff are the other two finalists. This is the first nomination for Montgomery and Hakstol, while Ruff won the award in 2006 while coaching the Buffalo Sabres. This is Ruff's fourth nomination.
Montgomery joins Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron who was named to a record 12th Selke Award finalist, and Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, who earned the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goalie tandem with the fewest goals allowed during the regular season.
The 2023 NHL Awards will be presented in Nashville on June 26.
