Flames' Darryl Sutter named NHL's coach of the year with 2021-22 Jack Adams Award

Calgary Flames coach Darryl Sutter has won the 2021-22 Jack Adams Award, the NHL announced Thursday night. Sutter won the award, which the NHL annually gives to the coach who has "contributed most to his team's success," with 54 first-place votes and 353 voting points. 

Florida Panthers coach Andrew Brunette, who took over as the head man after Joel Quenneville's midseason resignation, finished second with 31 first-place votes and 249 voting points. Gerard Gallant, whose New York Rangers have a 1-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, placed third with 12 first-place votes and 142 voting points. 

This season was Sutter's second in Calgary, and he orchestrated a remarkable improvement over Year 1. Calgary won the Pacific Division with a 50-21-11 record this season, the NHL's sixth best, after going 26-27-3 and missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the year prior. The 2021-22 Flames ranked sixth in goals per game and third in goals against per game after ranking 19th and 16th, respectively, in those areas in 2020-21. 

The Flames' regular-season success didn't quite translate to the postseason, however, as they won only one game in their second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers after topping the Dallas Stars in Round 1. 

Sutter is Calgary's second Jack Adams winner, following Bob Hartley in 2014-15. He's also the second member of his family to win the award. In 1990-91, Sutter's brother, Brian Sutter, earned Jack Adams honors after leading the St. Louis Blues to a 47-22-11 record. 

A two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach with the Los Angeles Kings, Sutter has been behind an NHL bench for over 20 years. In addition to the Kings and Flames, Sutter has coached the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. Sutter was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award during his first stint in Calgary in 2003-2004, a season in which his Flames fell to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.