This take confuses me a lot. Giving credit to Carbery for getting a -37 GD team to the playoffs as if he wasn't also at least partially responsible for the -37GD is some real cognitive dissonance. Even more so when you remember how much of a clown show the "race" for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs was, with basically every team tripping over banana peels as they tried to get in with the least points possible.
The more compelling argument is that Carbery achieved an 11-point improvement compared to the season before, despite losing Backstrom and Kuznetsov. That being said, the three coaches nominated as finalists all had equally-or-more impressive feats. Winnipeg finished 15 points better than the season before, +38 GD better than the season before, and just 4 points behind the President's Trophy. Nashville went from missing the playoffs last year, to in the playoffs this year, finished 7 points better than the year, improved their goal differential by 30 goals compared to the season before, plus has the narrative of Brunette's previously interim coaching heroics with Florida playing into this Jack Adam's campaign. Vancouver jumped from 83 points last year to 109 this year (+26 point differential), won their division, improved their goal differential by an insane 78 goal margin (basically a whole goal better per game), and finished just 5 points behind the President's Trophy.
Let me be very explicitly clear here, I like Carbery. I think he's a good coach, I supported his hire, and I want him to continue coaching the Capitals. But there's just a big difference between "he did a good job for a rookie coach with a roster in turmoil" and "Jack Adams finalist" levels.