Step aside Oscars, hockey awards season is just heating up

PITTSBURGH — Rick Bowness has never won the Jack Adams Trophy during his decorated coaching career. He was named a finalist for the first — and only — time while guiding the Winnipeg Jets during the 2023-24 season.

That campaign ended with a disappointing first-round playoff exit and a retirement announcement from Bowness, who along with his wife, Judy, had battled health issues that year.

Life has a funny way of circling back sometimes, and Bowness is not only back behind a big-league bench, but making a compelling case that he might just be the best in the business.

The fact that Bowness was still soaking up his post-hockey life at the start of 2026, spending time with family in Florida, makes this story even more incredible.

Now 71, he’s stepped back into a league dominated by youth and speed and skill and turned the Columbus Blue Jackets from a pretender to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Bowness has led the club to a sizzling 17-2-4 record since taking over from Dean Evason on Jan. 12. That is No. 1 in the league during that span and should have his name on plenty of ballots this spring.

Some voters might hold the fact he’ll only coach for about half the season against him. But if the award is to truly recognize impact on a team, how can Bowness possibly be overlooked? The Blue Jackets were going nowhere fast without him, scuffling along with a 19-19-7 record.

The “Bones” bump is real — and it’s been spectacular. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer man. Bowness is beloved in the sport, and you wonder where the Jets might be today had he been able to stick around.

Bowness changed the culture of Winnipeg’s room, bringing much-needed accountability and attention to defensive detail which are now ingrained in the organization’s DNA. It wasn’t easy, nor was it always pretty — stripping Blake Wheeler of the captaincy left a mark, as did some of Bowness’ public shaming of his players at times.

But it always came from a place of love and respect, which the majority of players appreciate. It’s easy to see why he’s been able to turn an underforming Blue Jackets team around. They had all the talent. They just needed the right leader. And that’s what Bowness does. That is who he is.

His fingerprints are still all over the Jets, including mentoring current head coach Scott Arniel who worked with him as an associate for two seasons. As Winnipeg’s play has really slipped this year, you wonder whether Bowness would have had some tricks up his sleeve to right the ship?

By the way, the Jets will get to catch up with Bowness in two weeks from now as they pay their lone visit to Nationwide Arena on Apr. 4.

There’s another trophy Bowness has never won, even bigger than the Jack Adams. And wouldn’t it be something if his timeout on retirement ended with a Stanley Cup celebration? You couldn’t script a better story.

At this point, would you want to be against him?

Around the glass

In this week’s Dump & Chase, we zero in on the NHL awards races as we head down the final stretch of the regular season.

Starting with the Jack Adams, there are several other deserving candidates to go along with Bowness. Lindy Ruff of the surging Buffalo Sabres is probably the clubhouse leader right now, while rookie head coach Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins deserves plenty of praise as well.

Tampa’s Jon Cooper — who, incredibly, has never won before — and Jared Bednar of the league-leading Colorado Avalanche will also get some love.

Turning to some other key categories…

HART TROPHY

This looked like a runaway for Connor McDavid at one point, but the Edmonton Oilers are not even guaranteed to make the playoffs. McDavid still leads the league in scoring, but Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov has been on a second-half tear and might just be the new favourite. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, third in league-scoring, is right there as well, and he’s leading the top team in the NHL.

So, a three-horse race? Possibly four, actually.

If the San Jose Sharks manage to squeeze into the playoffs, how can Macklin Celebrini not be a serious contender? He is fifth in league scoring with 95 points — 50 (!) more than his closest teammate.

 

NORRIS TROPHY

If the award is for best offensive defenceman, than Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard would be the top contender given that he leads all blue-liners in points. But he has some flaws in his own end, ones that prevented him from even cracking the Canadian Olympic team, so that could be used against him. Still, he’s certainly in the mix.

Might this be the year Zach Werenski breaks through and wins? He’s making a compelling case while battling hard for Bowness and the Blue Jackets. Colorado’s Cale Makar and Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes are the two usual front-runners, while Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin is making a strong case as well.

This one will probably go right down to the wire and spark plenty of debate.

 

VEZINA TROPHY

Connor Hellebuyck will not be claiming it for the fourth time, that much is clear. So who steps up this year?

Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy has the inside track right now, leading the NHL in wins and sitting second in goals-against average. Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood is a serious contender, too, as he (along with Mackenzie Blackwood) has really fortified the Avalanche in net.

Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders are in the conversation as well.

 

CALDER TROPHY

No disrespect to all the other candidates, but there’s not much of a race here.

Matthew Schaefer of the Islanders should win this in a landslide. His numbers are ridiculous, especially for a defenceman: 21 goals, 50 points and averaging more than 24 minutes of ice time.

As for potential runner-ups, Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapapen of the Montreal Canadiens, Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks, Jimmy Snuggerud of the St. Louis Blues and Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild should all get consideration.

 

SELKE TROPHY

It’s not the most glamorous category, as this is more about preventing goals than scoring them. But strong two-way play is the name of the modern game.

Montreal captain Nick Suzuki has established himself as one of the favourites. Not only is he on track for a career year offensively, Suzuki is doing tons of heavy lifting in his own end of the ice.

Anthony Cirelli of Tampa, Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights, Joel Eriksson Ek of the Minnesota Wild, Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche and Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings have also entered the chat.

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