Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
Peter Laviolette, Alain Vigneault and Bob Hartley were recently announced as finalists for the Jack Adams award. In this edition the hotstove shares their opinion on which of the three is most deserving.
Todd Cordell I think Peter Laviolette is the most deserving of this crop.
The Predators were a team many expected to finish near the bottom of their division/conference and the Preds not only made the playoffs, but earned themselves home ice in a crazy tough division.
The Preds were one of the best teams in the NHL in terms of both possession and goal differential, and I think Laviolette is a big reason why.
His up-tempo system really seemed to play into the hands of Seth Jones, Roman Josi, Shea Weber and co.
Adam French Laviolette
All three are deserving, but I have always liked Lavy's fire and quick to burn out turnarounds that he's my guy. He got a Ribeiro being waived and traded for peanuts due to "off-ice issues" to be a number one centre for a "contender." He got Forsberg to turn from a borderline NHL player trying for a breakthrough to a Calder candidate. He got fantastic performances out of a Preds team that on paper isn't that impressive. Wilson and Smith in particular looked better than ever. They dealt with Rinne going down, they dealt without Fisher and in the end they went up against the Blackhawks in the first round who look like they might win it all again without Weber for the majority of it.
I have no problem with any of them winning it, but I think it should be between Lavy and Hartley. Flip a coin, both did amazing things. Oh and Corsi and stuff.
Michael Stuart I’ll take Peter Laviolette here, and I don’t think it should be close. He completely transformed the Nashville Predators, right down to their core. A team that was previously defined by its defensive structure is now defined by its ability to control possession and put the puck in the net.
Consider that, according to Puckalytics, the Predators ‘rocked’ a very mediocre 48.5% Corsi at five-on-five last season; this year they brought that up to 52.7%, one of the league’s better marks in the category. That’s not a small jump. Laviolette’s system worked for the Predators, as these tangible results clearly show. His team performed well, and didn’t just rely on crazy-good goaltending to win games. He’s the clear-cut winner in my books.
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