NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks are the three finalists for the coach of the year award, the NHL said on Friday.
The winner of the Jack Adams Award will be presented June 22 at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.
Bylsma, a first-time Adams finalist, helped the Penguins gain home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season despite the absence of top players Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for most of the team's final 35 games.
Trotz, a finalist for the second straight year, led the Predators to the playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven seasons by employing stingy defense and balanced scoring.
Vigneault led the Canucks to their finest regular season since joining the NHL in 1970-71, capturing the Presidents' Trophy as the League's top club with 117 points. In doing so, he set single-season franchise records for most points, most victories and most road wins.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Julian Linden)
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.