The Boston Bruins have been all around the playoffs during the 2025-26 season. There were times when first-year head coach Marco Sturm played at a level among the best in the Eastern Conference, and despite some recent struggles, they are still just two points out of a wild-card spot. Given where teams expected the Bruins to finish this season, Sturm has been doing an exemplary job in his first season.
NHL.com had 16 of its writers vote for the Jack Adams Trophy, awarded to the top head coach in the league. While there are plenty of coaches overachieving this season, and it won't be an easy award to win, it was shocking not to see Sturm's name on the list.
Tracking the Jack Adams Award, awarded to the coach to have contributed the most to his team's success, now that we're into the second half of the season... 🏆
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) January 5, 2026
Read more about how the writers voted ➡️ https://t.co/ZYxjvudO4Z pic.twitter.com/8SpolezWVu
I believe coaches shouldn't lose votes because their team is too good. The award for top coach in any league is trending toward the underdogs, leaving coaches like Jon Cooper without a Jack Adams Trophy. The Tampa Bay Lightning have always been good during his tenure, and since that is expected, the voters don't give him the award.
Speaking of Cooper, he should also be higher on this list. People were starting to write the Lightning off, but Cooper has them at the top of the Eastern Conference. It's perplexing how Cooper has two Stanley Cups, a 4 Nations Face-Off gold medal, and possibly an Olympic Gold Medal this year before ever being recognized as the NHL's top bench boss.
NHL.com poll disrespects Bruins’ Marco Sturm in embarrassing snub
Sturm has wholly changed the Bruins' culture in his first season. While there have been times this year when fans and pundits alike have concerns about Boston slowly slipping into last year's tendencies, Sturm has been able to reel them back in. A recent lengthy losing streak might've cost the head coach votes, but back-to-back wins over the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks show he can get his players performing at their best.
With so many unlikely teams possibly making the playoffs this season, it could be challenging for Sturm to get a vote at the end of the season. The basis for Joel Quenneville, Todd McLellan, and Rick Tocchet getting votes makes sense, but I struggle to understand how they received votes, while Sturm didn't.
With all the parity in the league, it can't be as simple as those teams are currently in a playoff position and the Bruins aren't. It only takes one win against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night for Boston to return to a wild-card spot. If Sturm continues to keep his team in the race, the Jack Adams hype has to begin.