IS JULIEN A RUNAWAY FOR COACH OF THE YEAR?

Bruins head coach Claude Julien is most definitely a favorite to take home the Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year. But is he a runaway for the prestigious honor, even this early in the season?

I think it will come down to a two man race between Julien and San Jose Sharks head man Todd McLellan, a first year head coach. McLellan was an assistant on last season's Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings squad, and was hired by San Jose after the club fired Ron Wilson in June.

McLellan's Sharks are off to the best start in NHL history. Through 27 games, San Jose is 22-3-2 with 46 points, six more than Boston. They are 14-0-2 at home in the Shark Tank, and have scored 102 goals (most in the league) and have only allowed 64. While the Sharks were considered a top flight NHL team coming into the season, nobody truly saw this coming.

Which brings us to Julien. The B's were the eighth seed in last year's playoffs, and only added rookie Blake Wheeler, fourth line center Stephane Yelle, and forward Michael Ryder--a highly criticized signing-- to the roster. Yet here they are with 40 points (18-4-4), the most in the Eastern Conference. The defense has been tremendous for Boston thus far, as they have allowed only 56 goals, the fewest in the NHL. And the offense, a weak point last year, has been nothing short of great. Boston is third in the league, having lit the lamp 89 times so far this season.

It would be a huge surprise for anyone other than Julien or McLellan to take home the hardware after the season. Julien has to be the early favorite, we are certainly looking at a tight race down the stretch.