John Tortorella deserves to win the Jack Adams Award this season

John Tortorella has the Philadelphia Flyers playing competitive hockey and it turns out he might actually be the right coach to lead a rebuild. Is he also the right coach to win the Jack Adams Award this season?

The Jack Adams Award is given to the coach \"adjudged to have contributed the most to his team\'s success.\" While that can be interpreted in a few different ways, there are typically two ways to win the award.

In instances like last year, it was clear that Jim Montgomery was going to win the Jack Adams as he coached the Boston Bruins to a record-setting 65 wins. In previous years, however, it hasn\'t always been a team that won its conference or even its division. Sometimes it\'s awarded to the coach of the team that has overachieved to reach the playoffs.

John Tortorella would fall into that category, much like he did in 2017 when the Columbus Blue Jackets improved from 76 points to 108 -- 23 points higher than their expected total. The Flyers are on pace for over 100 points, which is a hell of a lot better than anyone expected this season. They were huge long-shots to make the playoffs and, while it\'s still early, it\'s looking like a distinct possibility.

As of December 20th, the Flyers have a .629 points percentage, putting them on pace for 103 points this season. That\'s nearly 30 points higher than what the oddsmakers set their over/under at before the season. While the Canucks (+23.8 points) and Rangers (+19.5) are also performing well above expectations, the Flyers are projected to finish with over 100 points after expecting to finish with a point percentage below .500.

So, could John Tortorella win his third Jack Adams Award with his third different team this year? Why not?

The Flyers have taken a massive step forward this season as a team and individually. Philadelphia is one of the best teams in the league in generating and limiting shots and scoring chances. All of that adds up to being one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the league. Through 30 games, the Flyers have controlled 53.12% of the expected goal share at 5-on-5 play. They\'re only behind teams that were (or still are) expected to compete for the Stanley Cup like the Oilers, Kings, Hurricanes, Devils, Panthers, and Golden Knights. While the Flyers are still playing some Torts-style hockey with a 2.34 xGA/60 (sixth in the league), they\'re in the top half of the league in xGF/60 as well (2.65, 14th).

Tortorella has made some stylistic changes this season in preparation for top prospects Cutter Gauthier and Matvei \"Mad Russian\" Michkov joining the team in the coming years. Rather than strictly playing dump-and-chase hockey and grinding out board battles, the Flyers are also focusing on attacking off the rush and using speed to their advantage.

While Tortorella\'s rope drew the ire of the team in training camp, those intense conditioning sessions appear to be paying off. He challenged his players and they answered the bell.

A lot of the Flyers players struggled last season in Tortorella\'s first year behind the bench. The two sides were still figuring each other out, and it showed. However, we saw some players improve as the season moved along, and after an offseason of knowing what to expect, they\'ve taken that next step with Tortorella\'s confidence behind them.

Perhaps what\'s been most impressive about the Flyers is how they consistently roll four lines and three pairs. There isn\'t a trio of untouchables on the fourth line that should be scratched for younger, more talented players. Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway have been two great veteran presences on a young team. In fact, among 76 lines with 100+ minutes together, the Deslauriers - Poehling - Hathaway trio ranks 34th with an xGF% of 56%.

Of course, success breeds confidence, but Tortorella deserves some credit for putting together the Flyers lines as he has. He has been able to find combinations that work well together by mixing and matching the right pieces. Take the first line for example. Sean Couturier is a Selke Trophy-winning center who\'s being flanked by Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster. Couturier and Konecny are clearly two of the Flyers\' top players and have played together before. Adding a rookie like Foerster who\'s known more for his shot than anything has worked out tremendously. Foerster\'s season didn\'t start out as many hoped and his goal and point totals are still a bit low, but it\'s his play away from the puck and hard work to win board battles that earned Tortorella\'s trust -- and it\'s paid off.

Since those three were united on the top line in mid-November, the Flyers are not only one of the best teams in the league but the Couturier line has become one of the best in hockey. They rank ninth (of 34) with a 60% xGF among lines with 150+ minutes together.

Tortorella\'s stylistic changes have also allowed the Flyers defensemen to take more chances and join in on the rush. Travis Sanheim is playing the best hockey of his career while lining up on his off side. He\'s helped 22-year-old Cam York find his way on the top pair as well. The effect has been noticeable on all three pairs, actually, with offseason acquisition Sean Walker and Nick Seeler combining to be one of the best duos in the league. The Seeler-Walker pair has a xGF% of 58.6% in 306 minutes together. That ranks fifth among 63 defensive pairs with 200+ minutes together. Tortorella is getting the most out of Walker, more or less a throw-in in the Ivan Provorov trade, and Seeler, a career seventh defenseman who is playing well over his head.

Additionally, Tortorella has also been able to unlock Rasmus Ristolainen. Chuck Fletcher\'s decision to trade for Ristolainen and then extend him after a so-so season while the team was selling was an infuriating one. But the former eighth-overall pick is thriving in his age-29 season under the hard-nosed coach.

\"I wish I had him when I was 18 and coming into the league,\" Ristolainen recently said of Tortorella. \"It\'s been fun playing for him and I feel like I\'ve taken big steps under him.\"

And Ristolainen isn\'t alone. Tortorella is fostering a fun, competitive environment that matches the up-and-coming group he\'s coaching.

Cam Atkinson is one of the veterans who has played for Tortorella in the past. He was a part of that Blue Jackets squad in Columbus that Tortorella took to the playoffs in the 2016-17 season en route to his second career Jack Adams Award.

\"Yeah, we have a special group here. I\'ve said it from day one, since I returned, since Coots returned, bringing in some new guys. We’re a family in this room, and you can tell right from the start,\" Atkinson said after last week\'s shootout win. \"How special it is to come to the rink and go to battle with these guys. Everyone is positive and everyone is upbeat through the bad times and the good times. I have been in the league 13 years, and this is one of the, if not, the most special group I have ever been a part of.\"

Tortorella has the Flyers playing sustainable winning hockey in what was expected to be another lost year for the franchise. He\'s adapting well to the Flyers\' new roster and situation, and he hasn\'t even gotten into a spat with the media yet. That alone is Jack Adams-worthy.

But in all seriousness, if the Flyers make it to the playoffs or are somehow in the fight for the Metropolitan Division, Tortorella needs to get the credit that he\'s due.

Talking Points