Dan Muse Leads Penguins to Second and Jack Adams Finalist Spot
dan muse is a Jack Adams Award finalist after guiding the Pittsburgh Penguins to second place in the Metropolitan Division in his first season behind the bench. The NHL announced Friday that Muse joined Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres on the three-man finalist list.
Muse And The Penguins
His first season in Pittsburgh ended with a finish few saw coming. The Penguins were widely projected to miss the playoffs, yet Muse pushed them to second place in the Metropolitan Division and into a season that outperformed the expectations built around them.
Pittsburgh also finished with the third-most goals in the league. That scoring total gives Muse’s case a stronger statistical base than a simple standings jump, because it shows the Penguins were not climbing by squeezing out low-event games. They produced offense at a level that matched the rise in the table.
Cooper Ruff And June
Muse is up against two established bench leaders. Cooper has the Tampa Bay Lightning in the mix again, while Ruff gives Buffalo another finalist in a race decided by the NHL's Broadcasters Association.
The award has been given since 1974 to the coach judged to have contributed the most to his team's success. Spencer Carbery of the Washington Capitals won it last year, and this year's winner will be announced in June.
For Muse, the finalist spot is the direct reward for a season that changed Pittsburgh's trajectory under a coach who arrived after years as an assistant with the Nashville Predators, the New York Rangers, at the NCAA level and with the U.S. National Team Development Program. The next result that matters is the vote itself, with the final decision now set for June.
