ST. LOUIS -- The Jack Adams finalists were announced on Monday and not surprisingly, Ken Hitchcock was on the list, joining New York's John Tortorella and Ottawa's Paul MacLean. Hitchcock used the nomination to take a moment and reflect on the challenges of the past 18 months, a struggle that continued until he got the call from the Blues to take over for Davis Payne in November.
"When you make a decision to coach as a living, there's times when you really need family and friends," Hitchcock said on Monday. "In the last year and a half, I've really needed family and friends. First to keep me sane, keep me occupied and keep me interested in doing this wonderful job."
The Blues don't need the Jack Adams to validate just how smart a decision it was to hire Hitchcock, and he has to be the favorite because of the dramatic way in which St. Louis surged when he took over. But it's not an easy decision for the broadcasters. The Professional Hockey Writers' Association doesn't vote on the Jack Adams, but if we did, this is how I would have leaned:
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- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
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Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
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