Not even 24 hours after firing Peter Laviolette, the Nashville Predators have hired John Hynes as Head Coach. Assistant coach, Kevin McCarthy was relieved of his duties as well, he has been replaced by Rob Scuderi, who recorded eight goals and 110 points in 783 NHL games. This will be Scuderi's first coaching experience.
Hynes spent time coaching in the NCAA and AHL before being named Head Coach of the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2015. As bench boss of the Devils, Hynes had a record of 150-159-45. In 2017-18 the Devils reached the playoffs for the first and only time under Hynes' leadership, but they were ultimately eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Earlier this season on Dec. 3, 2019, Hynes was fired by the Devils and replaced with Alain Nasreddine.
"John Hynes is a bright young coach and a great leader who has a track record of both effectively developing young players and successfully motivating veterans," Predators GM David Poile said. "We love his coaching resume and are confident that he has learned from every stop during his career, and has the best skill set to get the maximum potential out of our team."
"This is a tremendous opportunity to join an organization with a history of success, a team with immense talent and a phenomenal fanbase," Hynes said. "This organization has a strong foundation, from its ownership and executives to the entire front-office staff, and I'm excited to come in and try to maximize this team's abilities."
Hynes joins a struggling Predators team that currently sits 11th in the Western Conference with a 19-15-7 record and is five points behind Winnipeg for the final wild card spot.
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