Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins has been voted the 2019-20 recipient of the Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”
Cassidy, a former head coach with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins and Providence Bruins, becomes the seventh person ever to win both the Jack Adams Award and the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, which is presented to the AHL’s outstanding coach. He won the Pieri Award in 2001-02 after leading Grand Rapids to a division title in their first season competing in the AHL.
Fred Shero, Don Cherry, Jacques Demers, Marc Crawford, Claude Julien and Barry Trotz have also won coaching honors in both leagues.
Under Cassidy, the Bruins posted the NHL’s best record in 2019-20 at 44-14-12 (.714) and captured the Presidents’ Trophy.
Cassidy originally joined Boston’s staff at the start of the 2016-17 season after eight seasons in Providence – three as an assistant and five as head coach. Cassidy guided Providence to a record of 207-149-24 (W-L-SOL) from 2011-16, including winning records in all five years and four trips to the Calder Cup Playoffs, as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy in 2012-13 as the AHL’s regular-season champions.