Pittsburgh Penguins head coach, Dan Muse, will win the Jack Adams Award for the best coach in the NHL regular season. Muse is in his first season behind the bench for the Penguins and has exceeded all expectations compared to the media projections for 2025-26. He would be Pittsburgh’s first coach to win the award since its in inception in 1974.
Changing of the Guard
The past few seasons for Pittsburgh with franchise favorite and two-time Stanley Cup-winning head coach Mike Sullivan at the helm were disappointing, and a change was mandatory. Despite not having prior NHL head-coaching experience, Muse had coached under Peter Laviolette with the Nashville Predators and the New York Rangers.
During that time, Muse mainly coached the penalty kill units and helped each team achieve the Presidents’ Trophy. He was selected from a field of candidates that the Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, put together. His gift to connect with and develop players is how he separated himself from the others and ended up being named the 23rd head coach in Penguins’ history.
Muse’s Jack Adams Award Resume
In what was supposed to be a year to forget and tank for the extremely prized Gavin McKenna from Penn State, Muse and the Penguins have clinched a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022. On the ice, the legendary trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang has led the way, along with resurgent seasons from Erik Karlsson and Anthony Mantha.
Muse deserves just as much of the credit because he has circumvented injuries to Crosby, Malkin, Rickard Rakell, and a few others. He has also brilliantly meshed the Penguins’ many new preseason and midseason acquisitions of Justin Brazeau, Egor Chinakov, and Stuart Skinner.
This season, the Penguins have posted the sixth-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL at 81.8%. Their top penalty kill unit features three great defensemen in Karlsson, Noel Acciari, and Parker Wotherspoon, plus the longtime right wing Bryan Rust, each of whom has benefited from Muse’s coaching style. His capacity to hold players accountable while maintaining a passionate mindset towards making adjustments on the fly is a huge reason why the team has been so successful this season.
Muse has the Penguins firing on all cylinders offensively, too. They have a +33 goal differential on the season, which is fourth best in the Eastern Conference. Mantha, Chinakov, and Connor Dewar have each posted new career highs in goals scored thanks to Muse’s coaching and line pairings. The eighteen-year-old rookie, Ben Kindel, has emerged as a guaranteed stud for the Penguins as well. Muse has praised Kindel for his tenacity and ability to be coached at such a young age and at such a high level.
The Best Is Yet to Come
The Penguins are on fire at exactly the right time heading into the playoffs, and regardless of who they take on in the first round, they will win the series because of Muse’s leadership and ability to pivot. He has an immensely bright future as a head coach in the league and will play a pivotal role as the Penguins pursue their sixth Stanley Cup.
