Berube named one of three finalists for Jack Adams Award
ST. LOUIS -- After leading the St. Louis Blues from last place on New Year's Day to a playoff berth at the end of the season, it seemed inevitable that interim head coach Craig Berube would receive strong consideration for the 2018-19 Jack Adams Award, presented annually to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” On Friday evening, he was officially named a finalist.
Berube joins the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper and the New York Islanders’ Barry Trotz as finalists for the award.
“I am proud of Craig for being a finalist for the Jack Adams,” said Blues president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong. “He and his staff have developed a strong relationship with our players and established a clear sense of direction for our team.”
Berube replaced Mike Yeo as the Blues' bench boss on Nov. 19, 2018, receiving the title of interim head coach. From then on, he led the Blues to a 38-19-6 record and a third-place finish in the Central Division. From Jan. 1 to the end of the regular season, the Blues went 30-10-5, accumulating the most points among all teams in that span.
Berube guided the Blues to become just the seventh team since 1967-68 to earn a postseason berth after being last in the NHL standings at any point after New Year’s Day. He also coached the Blues through a franchise-record 11-game win streak from Jan. 23 to Feb. 19 and to a 12-1-1 mark in February, which tied a franchise mark for wins in a calendar month. Berube, a first-time Jack Adams finalist, could become the fifth coach in Blues history to take home the trophy (Ken Hitchcock, Joel Quenneville, Brian Sutter and Red Berenson were the others). Currently, Berube has the Blues with 1-0 second-round series lead over the Dallas Stars after beating the second-seeded Winnipeg Jets in six games in the first round.
