Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has captured the 2005-2006 Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.
Ruff edged Carolina Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette, 155-154, in the closet Adams vote since the trophy was first awarded in 1973-74 and the closest vote among all trophies in 2005-06. The razor-thin margin was reflective of the clubs’ competition this season; Carolina earned the Eastern Conference’s second seed with 112 points, two more than the fourth-seeded Sabres, and the clubs staged a seven-game Eastern Conference Final, with the Hurricanes overcoming a third-period deficit in the deciding game to claim the series en route to the Stanley Cup.
The League’s tenured head coach, Ruff guided the Sabres to a 52-24-6 record for 110 points, a 25-point improvement over 2003-04, and set franchise records for victories and points. The Sabres tallied their highest goal total, 281, since 1993-94, doing so without a player placing among the League’s top 60 scorers.
:tup: Congrats to Lindy, he deserved it.