By Allan Brown
As an attorney, Jon Cooper could certainly argue his case for winning the Jack Adams Trophy.
He won't, though.
He's too humble.
However, I have no problem advocating for the Tampa Bay Lightning head coach to finally take home the trophy as best coach in the league.
What Cooper has done in his six full seasons as Lightning coach has been nothing short of amazing.
Yet, he has but one NHL Award nomination for the Jack Adams and no win.
That should change this year.
Despite most NHL analysts' projections that the New York Islanders' head coach, Barry Trotz will be given the Jack Adams when the NHL Awards are dispensed in Las Vegas this June, Cooper is the leader who should actually hoist that trophy.
Here's why.
Even if you totally - and rightfully based on voting criteria - discount everything Cooper has done in the past several years, including leading the Lightning to three Eastern Conference Final (and one Stanley Cup Final) appearances in the last four years, the Bolts coach would still be the right choice for the Jack Adams
That's because what he has led the Lightning to 'THIS SEASON' is nothing short of phenomenal.
The Bolts currently own a 17-point lead over Boston in the Atlantic Division and a 13-point lead over Calgary for the President's Trophy, given annually to the team with the best record in the NHL.
Tampa Bay leads the league in offensive statistics and is a top five team in defense. It also is tied with Arizona for the top spot for penalty kill, having improved dramatically in that statistic this season. The Bolts also have the top-ranked power play percentage in the NHL.
And, all of this is done with players who weren't necessarily household names when they joined the Lightning and/or were coached by Cooper when he led the team's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, (and formerly the Norfolk Admirals) before taking over the Bolts toward the end of the 2012-13 season.
What Trotz has done in New York is certainly worth consideration. He's guided an Islanders team most thought wouldn't contend for two to three years into a legitimate playoff team. However, looking at their record and statistics alone, Cooper should have the edge for the Jack Adams.
While the Islanders currently lead the league in defense, they are not a balanced team and check in at number 21 in offensive production.
While they still lead the Metropolitan Division, they have loosened their grip of late on that lead and did nothing during the recent NHL trade deadline to improve the squad for a playoff push.
I suspect the Isles will be in the top three still in their division at the end of the regular season, though none of their numbers can compete with the completeness of the stats the Bolts put up.
Trotz would be number two in my vote for the Jack Adams. Cooper, however, is clearly my top choice.
If Cooper had just taken over the Bolts this season, his numbers might not be as astonishing, as the team was already a contender, however, what he has done is tweak and nurture the squad over time to get them where they are today.
In the process, he has taken the Lightning to new levels of excellence. He has been denied the Jack Adams honor once before for basically doing what Trotz is doing now.
He should not be denied this season.
As for other Bolts who should be given serious consideration for NHL Awards, one is going to need to convince voters he's the best in the league - the Lightning fans already have his back on that one - and the other just needs to continue to do what he's best at, which is simply accumulating points.
Looking at the race for the Vezina Trophy, given annually to the goaltender deemed as being best at his position, it would seem that no one is a lock for that honor this year.
That's where Andrei Vasilevskiy comes in.
Most pundits put Vasy as number two or three for that honor due to a lower body injury that took him out of commission for about a month earlier in the season.
Even missing four weeks of games, Vasilevskiy is still technically third in contests won at 28. He is tied for first with Vegas's Marc Andre Fleury (the only goaltender I think could legitimately take the Vezina from Vasy at this point) in shutouts with six.
In other stats, Vasy ranks first in save percentage at .930 and third in goals against average at 2.26.
Down the home stretch, the Bolts are stronger and have more depth and consistency than the Golden Knights so that should stand Vasy in good stead versus Fleury.
The Vezina race is certainly going to be a dog fight till the end, I suspect.
As for the other Bolt currently on pace for an NHL Award, winger, Nikita Kucherov, has to do is keep scoring or continue getting assists and he will take home the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the player with the most points in the League.
Kucherov currently is eight points ahead of Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks for that award.
With his 101 points, Kucherov leads the Bolts in assists and is third on a deep team in goals. Actually, a strong case could also be made for the winger to win the Hart Trophy, awarded to the League MVP, too.
An obviously strong shooter who has grown tremendously in all other aspects of the game, too, Kucherov's record-setting pace to 100 points doesn't look to slow down much as the Lightning head to the home stretch of the regular season.
Although nothing is set in stone yet, Kucherov looks to be the Lightning's best bet to win some hardware in June.
However, with Cooper and Vasilevskiy setting some strong - and possibly team-record numbers of their own it could - and rightfully should - be a trifecta for the Lightning in Vegas this June.
