Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter got his hands on the Jack Adams Trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach who has contributed the most to his team’s success, Thursday, a few minutes before Game 2 of the Western Final between the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers.
It was Brian Sutter, brother of Darryl, who won the same honor with the St. Louis Blues in 1990-1991, who made the announcement. He also became the second member of the Flames to win this honor, after a certain Bob Hartley, who had achieved the feat in 2014-2015.
Sutter led the Alberta squad to a 50-win season, going 50-21-11, for 111 points, which earned them first place in the Pacific Division, as well as sixth best performance in the Bettman League. .
The Flames also finished the 2021-22 campaign with the second best differential (85) in the league, behind only the Florida Panthers (94). The team stood out both offensively and defensively, scoring the sixth-highest total in goals (293), in addition to finishing third in goals against (208).
Sutter thus edged out Andrew Brunette (Florida Panthers) and Gerard Gallant (New York Rangers), in order. The man behind the Flames bench got 54 first-place, 22 second-place and 17 third-place votes.
He succeeds Rod Brind’Amour, of the Carolina Hurricanes, who won it in 2020-2021.
