Jack Adams Trophy Odds: Who Will Win Coach of the Year?

It’s always great to win any kind of award. But it’s not always the best sign when you win the Jack Adams, the award given each year to the NHL’s top coach. 

Only two out of the last six winners named the league’s top coach are still employed by the team they won it with. 

Rick Tocchet won the award in 2024 for his work on the Vancouver Canucks and was fired just a season later. Jim Montgomery won the award in 2023, and the Boston Bruins fired him two years later. 

The turnover rate is already incredibly high in the world of NHL coaching, but when you win Coach of the Year, your chance of being fired somehow gets even higher. 

Here’s a look at where the odds stand as of April 6 for who may win the Jack Adams in the 2025-26 season.

Jack Adams Trophy Odds

Who’s Favored to Win the 2025-26 Jack Adams Award?

Lindy Ruff, Sabres (-200)

With the Buffalo officially ending the longest playoff drought in NHL history, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has a great chance for the Jack Adams Award. 

As a result of the Red Wings losing to the Rangers on Saturday afternoon, Buffalo clinched their first playoff berth since the 2011 season. 

The Sabres finished last regular season as the second-worst team in the Atlantic Division with a 36-39-7 record, adding another year to their record-setting playoff drought. Even though Ruff was the coach last year, he’s getting the credit for a season where Buffalo defied expectations and returned to the playoffs.

Going into this year, Buffalo was a slight underdog to make the playoffs, with the line set at +275.

Ruff previously won the award in the 2005-06 season after Buffalo went 52-24-6 in the regular season. That team went on to play in the conference finals, losing in seven games to the Hurricanes.