Jack Adams Winners Who Disappeared

[DisgruntledGoat*]

This trophy has a few, 'where are they now' candidates in its history.

I think most would agree that the way to win the Adams is to take over a struggling team and have them overachieve. And, obviously, sometimes the coach gets more credit for that than he deserves. But how come some of these guys never got a second-chance to prove themselves?

Here's a few guys that vanished from the coaching ranks after winning the Jack Adams. Can anyone shed some light on what happened to them and why they were never 'invited' back?

1989-1990- Bob Murdoch, Winnipeg Jets (240 career games coached. Only 80 after winning)

2000-2001- Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers (136 career games coached. Only 82 after winning)

2001-2002- Bob Francis, Phoenix Coyotes (390 career games coached. 144 after winning)

For me, Francis is the strangest one. The Coyotes weren't a talented team, but he had them playing a pretty solid brand of hockey for a few years and most would say they overachieved during his tenure. After he got fired, its seems he totally vanished from the hockey world.

What exactly is the difference between a guy like Francis who is never heard from again, and coach like, say, Ron Wilson whose results have not been that much better but who continues to get job after job?

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[Hoser]

Here's a few guys that vanished from the coaching ranks after winning the Jack Adams. Can anyone shed some light on what happened to them and why they were never 'invited' back?

1989-1990- Bob Murdoch, Winnipeg Jets (240 career games coached. Only 80 after winning)

2000-2001- Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers (136 career games coached. Only 82 after winning)

2001-2002- Bob Francis, Phoenix Coyotes (390 career games coached. 144 after winning)

Well I can't tell you why they weren't invited back into the coaching 'fraternity', but I can tell you what happened to them.

Bob Murdoch was fired by the Jets in 1991, and from there joined the Sharks as Associate Coach under George Kingston. Kingston and Murdoch weren't brought back after the '92-'93 season, and from there Murdoch went to Germany and coached in the DEL.

Barber joined the Lightning as Director of Player Personnel after he was fired in 2002. He rejoined the Flyers as a scout in 2008.

Bob Francis went to Finland and coached in the SM-liiga.

 

[crobro]

orval tessier

 

[rt]

Yeah, as a Coyotes fan I never understood what happened to Francis. Seemed like a great coach. Not controversial, not polarizing. At least bot that I could see. Seemed like a pro. Strange.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Barber wasn't a good coach at all. His solution to everything was "work harder".

His Jack Adams award should be credited to Roman Cechmanek.

Barber took over in November, and to that point Brian Boucher had been absolutely brutal.

Shortly after Barber took over Cechmanek took over and he was absolutely brilliant during the rest of the regular season.

 

[Poignant Discussion*]

Cechmanek was a hell of a regular season goalie

 

[begbeee]

Does Ted Nolan count?

 

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Does Ted Nolan count?

I guess he does and I considered him but left him off because he never really faded away like the others. . . he managed to drum up controversy for a number of years afterwards and I think most people look at that as the major reason why he doesn't get re-hired. But he would certainly qualify for being in the conversation, though.

 

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Bob Francis went to Finland and coached in the SM-liiga.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he only lasted there for a few months.

 

[tony d]

Yeah, Bob Francis is an interesting case. A lot of people had him as the next great coach when he was with Phoenix. Wonder another team wouldn't have took him on as their coach.

 

[hannes_ko]

Yeah, Bob Francis is an interesting case. A lot of people had him as the next great coach when he was with Phoenix. Wonder another team wouldn't have took him on as their coach.

His stay in Finland is infamous. He had bad health and there are also a lot of rumours about him having problems with alcohol. I won't say was he alcoholic or not, but that's what Finnish hockey fans remember him for. His short tenure in Helsinki was one of the ugliest episodes in recent history of SM-liiga.

 

[Big Phil]

Another thing no one has mentioned, Bobby Francis had very good bloodlines with his father - Emile.

Barber may not have been a good coach, but he was thrown under the bus pretty good by one of the worst playoff performers per regular season production in Keith Primeau. Primeau probably got him fired, shortly after Barber's wife of 30 years died.

Nolan definitely made too many enemies across the NHL. We all know his excuse for why no one wanted him anymore, but I think that can only take you so far until you have to wonder how much of a headcase the guy actually was.

Lastly, Pat Quinn is a name that pops up. Yeah I know he has a great career behind him and being in the NHL coaching for 30 years isn't someone who "disappeared" but after the Leafs in 2005-'06 he managed one single season in Edmonton. Did they all think the game had passed him by? He was fired by one of the worst general managers in NHL history - John Ferguson Jr.

 

[crobro]

did barry long win the jack adams

 

[saskganesh]

did barry long win the jack adams

Runner Up. Tom Watt had won 3 years before, so I imagine it would have been odd if Winnipeg won twice with two different coaches in such a short time span.

Edit. Forgot about Murdoch. Three would have been something and not necessarily very complementary to the Adams. All those one year wonder seasons wasn't for Team YoYo.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

The game had passed Pat Quinn by. That's just a fact.

 

[begbeee]

Ken Hitchcock didnt win JA but he was definetly great coach. I feel that game passed by him and he is done. He cant work with rookies and rookies are important part of the roster post-lockout. His defensive style is too old-fashioned to be equal to modern styles...

I think he is done as a successful coach. When Devils didnt hire him, I would say that says a lot.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

The game had passed Pat Quinn by. That's just a fact.

Quite frankly I think that this statement is a load of garbage. The offensive systems that Quinn was infamous for during his tenure in the league were ideal for the post-lockout NHL. The problem was that shortly following the lockout period the Leafs goaltending completely imploded.

Ed Belfour, who was coming off of two consecutive top five finishes in the Vezina Trophy voting, played pedestrian in the 2005-06 season to the tune of a sub-.900 save percentage in goal. With Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle forming quite arguably the NHL's most lethal PP combo from the point (both almost reached the seventy point mark individually), Mats Sundin with another 80 point campaign under his belt, and the league's second best PP behind only Detroit, the Leafs would have been challenging for home-ice and comfortably in the post-season with even league-average goaltending that season and next (when they missed by a single point to the Islanders). Quinn was still an effective NHL coach at the time of his departure from Toronto and many Leafs fans have still yet to forgive JFJ for his reactionary move in firing Quinn from his post when the Leafs still had a pretty decent roster.

 

[brianscot]

Any one have any idea why Bobby Kromm never got another shot at the NHL?

He won the Jack Adams in 1977-78 after Detroit improved by 37 points (year one of the Dale McCourt era) and became the first Detroit coach to win Coach of the year.

Previously, he won the AVCO cup in Winnipeg with the Hull/Nilsson/Hedberg Jets and back in 1961 was in charge when the Trail Smoke Eaters beat the Soviets for the World Championship.

Detroit fired him at age 51 and he never got another shot.

 

[jkrx]

Any one have any idea why Bobby Kromm never got another shot at the NHL?

He won the Jack Adams in 1977-78 after Detroit improved by 37 points (year one of the Dale McCourt era) and became the first Detroit coach to win Coach of the year.

Previously, he won the AVCO cup in Winnipeg with the Hull/Nilsson/Hedberg Jets and back in 1961 was in charge when the Trail Smoke Eaters beat the Soviets for the World Championship.

Detroit fired him at age 51 and he never got another shot.

Because he was absolutely terrible afterwards. He failed to get the team to the playoffs the next two seasons and was fired and replaced by Lindsay.

He didnt get another shot because he didnt want relocate with his children so he stayed in michigan if I remember correctly.