Two NHL head coaches, Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres and Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins, had clear-cut cases as strong contenders for the Jack Adams Award. Either one would have represented a worthy selection as the league's Coach of the Year.
The NHL Broadcasters' Association, which votes on that honor, instead selected Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper after months of narrative creation that pushed him as a deserving choice based on some bizarre reasoning that made it more of a lifetime achievement award.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet discussed the situation on Friday's 32 Thoughts podcast, saying he doesn't get too emotionally involved when it comes to the annual award winners.
"Look, Lindy Ruff would be very deserving. Dan Muse would be very deserving," Friedman said. "I don't get too riled up about awards. I understand Sabres fans are disappointed."
The NHL insider was far more concerned about the NHL Broadcasters' Association's handling of the vote, which allegedly saw dozens of unreturned ballots. He noted the Professional Hockey Writers Association, which is tasked with voting for most of the other NHL Awards, strips a person from future voting assignments if they don't return a ballot in any given year.
"The one thing I didn't like, however, is some mentioned to me there were 40 people eligible to vote for the Jack Adams that didn't," Friedman said. "... I just think this, for the Broadcasters' Association, if it's true 40 people didn't vote, if I was the NHL I'd have a real problem with that. You've been given the honor of selecting an award for somebody. If, what is that? A third of your members aren't voting? That's a problem. And I think the individuals shouldn't be allowed to vote again if they don't vote on time."
If it’s true, as @FriedgeHNIC reports, that 40 broadcasters didn’t return ballots for the Jack Adams, the NHL needs to take that honor away from the broadcaster’s association. That’s absolutely egregious when only 99 voted.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 5, 2026
Here's a look at how close the final voting numbers were for the Jack Adams Award:
NHL Coach | Voting Points |
|---|---|
Jon Cooper (TBL) | 226 |
Lindy Ruff (BUF) | 223 |
Dan Muse (PIT) | 199 |
So, the results could have easily changed if everybody eligible to vote returned their ballot, and that's unacceptable. It's unfair to Ruff and Muse because one of them deserved the trophy.
Cooper is a tremendous coach and it's accurate to say he probably should have won the Jack Adams once (or twice) in the past. But that's not a good reason to overlook more deserving candidates.
Buffalo Sabres show support for head coach Lindy Ruff on social media after Jack Adams controversy
The Sabres were quick to react Wednesday after Cooper was announced as the award winner.
They posted a picture of Ruff on Twitter/X with the caption "our coach of the year," which generated nearly 8,000 likes and more than 100 replies, including many in support of the Buffalo bench boss:
Our coach of the year. pic.twitter.com/zCpASzCDGj
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) June 3, 2026
Pete Guelli, the club's president of business operations, used the "blind résumé" approach to showcase the strength of Ruff's case:
Completely hypothetical comparison. Also, what if Head Coach 2 happened to end a 14 year playoff drought in his 2nd season on the job? pic.twitter.com/otj989JL6J
— Pete Guelli (@PeteGuelli) June 3, 2026
Some people have suggested Sabres (and Penguins) fans are overreacting to something that doesn't really matter, but the NHL Broadcasters' Association deserves to get called out. Friedman's critiques are spot on when it comes to not even filling out a ballot.
The controversy would also be greatly diminished if either Ruff or Muse won. Those two fanbases could still have a minor gripe if the other coach won, but it at least would have been understandable. Choosing Cooper based solely on the 2025-26 season is laughable.
It'll be interesting to see if the NHL steps in to change how the Jack Adams Award is selected for next season and beyond.
