Dean Evason is out and John Hynes is in. So who is Hynes and why was general manager Bill Guerin so quick to hire someone from outside the organization considering Minnesota will be back on the ice Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues?
Hynes coached the New Jersey Devils from 2015 through the early part of the 2019-20 season before he was fired that December after a lousy start to the season. Just over a month later he was named the head coach of the Nashville Predators after Peter Laviolette was fired midway through the 2019-20 season.
Hynes went 134-96-18 in Nashville before the Predators brought in Barry Trotz as general manager and Trotz started fresh with his own coaches. Trotz had nothing but positive things to say about Hynes upon his dismissal.
“John Hynes is a good man and a good hockey coach,” Trotz said after the May 30 firing. “He did an outstanding job after the trade deadline with our team, especially with our young players, and he is a well-prepared, hard-working coach who will continue to grow in the NHL. After our year-end meetings and some additional evaluation, it was time to change the voice and time to go in a different direction.”
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