Earlier this week, VegasInsider updated their NHL postseason award odds — and a name familiar with Columbus Blue Jackets' fans has popped up on the list.
John Tortorella, who coached the Blue Jackets from 2015 until his resignation at the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season, sits third overall at +650 to win the Jack Adams Award. The award goes to the NHL's coach who is judged to have contributed the most to his team's success.
Tortorella is in his second season coaching the Philadelphia Flyers and at 25-14-6 (as of January 19th), just two points from the top of the Metropolitan Division standings. The Flyers were considered to be in the midst of a rebuild and projected to finish near not only the bottom of the division, but near the bottom of the league. Instead, Torts' group is looking prime for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and are owners of an incredible 14-6-4 when on the road.
At +650, Tortorella sits just behind new New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, whose odds are at +600. Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is the favorite right now, at +185. Both the Canucks and Rangers are ahead of the Flyers in the standings.
If he were to win, it would be the third time that Tortorella has won the Jack Adams. He won it for the first time in the 2003-04 season as the bench boss of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and became the first (and only) Blue Jackets head coach to win the award when he did so for coaching Columbus to a 50-24-8 record in the 2016-17 season. If he wins the award this season, he will become just the second coach in league history to win the award with three different teams.
Here are the top five candidates to win the award, per VegasInsider:
Rick Tocchet, VAN: +185
Peter Laviolette NYR: +600
John Tortorella, PHI: +650
Andre Tourigny, ARZ: +1400
Todd McLellan, LAK: +1400
It's bittersweet to see Torts have this degree of success after his departure from Columbus, but good luck to the best coach in Blue Jackets history.
