New Jersey Devils: John Hynes joins hot seat after disappointing start

The New Jersey Devils were expected to contend for a spot in the postseason this season. However, they’re off to a slow start and head coach John Hynes should be feeling the heat.

After a disappointing 2018-19 season, the New Jersey Devils added a lot of impressive pieces over the summer to try to build a postseason contender. It was also done to try to convince star forward Taylor Hall, who will be a free agent in July of 2020, to sign an extension. However, after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Devils are stuck with a 0-2-2 record.

It’s still early, so there’s no reason to panic yet. But if things don’t turn around quickly, there are likely going to be some changes. When a team built to succeed fails to do so, change is inevitable. With the roster undergoing a lot of changes this summer, a change there doesn’t appear likely. However, a change behind the bench is plausible, as head coach John Hynes seems to have lost his team.

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Hynes has coached the Devils since the start of the 2016-17 season. He has taken them to the postseason just once in his four seasons. The Devils have had a point percentage of at least .500 in two of those four seasons.

As of Friday, Oct. 11, Hynes has a career .489% point percentage in 332 career games, which is tied with Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings. Among active coaches with at least 200 games coached, only Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche and Rick Tocchet of the Arizona Coyotes have a lower point percentage. To be fair to Bednar, he’s only been a head coach for three full seasons and his first one was the worst season of the salary cap era.

Hynes has been making some very questionable decisions as of late. On Opening Night against the Winnipeg Jets, the New Jersey Devils got out to an early 4-0 lead, dominating the Winnipeg Jets. However, the Jets scored a goal towards the end of the second period to make it 4-1.

Instead of calming his team down, Hynes decided to make some drastic changes to the lineup. Those changes didn’t work, as the Jets wound up scoring four unanswered goals and won the game in a shootout. Obviously, the players didn’t execute, which is on them. However, Hynes switched up the forward lines when he had no reason to do so, and that probably wound up costing them a point.

The next night, the New Jersey Devils played the Buffalo Sabres in the Sabres’ home opener. Instead of going back to the lines that worked against the Jets, Hynes went back to the lines that didn’t work. The end result was a 7-2 loss. To be fair, the score was a bit lopsided because goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood had to play the previous evening thanks to an injury to starting goalie Cory Schneider. That’s a tough spot to be in for any goalie, especially a young one.

However, Blackwood was far from the biggest problem. The Devils were outplayed significantly by the Sabres, who dominated them in virtually every underlying stat. While it should be noted the Devils were on the second end of games on back-to-back evenings, their lines didn’t work and Hynes made minimal adjustments during the game. It’s inexcusable to switch up the forward lines while you’re winning, yet refuse to do so while losing in a blowout.

Their 4-0 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, was more of the same. Hynes knew his team failed to execute against the Sabres, yet, as All About The Jersey notes, they looked equally flat against the Flyers. Yes, the players warrant blame for this, as it’s their job to execute. But Hynes deserves an equal share of the blame.

It should be noted the schedule has not been kind to the Devils so far. They’ve had an odd one early, as they’ve played four games in seven days. All four games have been a part of a set of games on back-to-back nights. That’s a tough spot to be in. But, as Vincent Parise of Pucks And Pitchforks notes, the Devils haven’t been able to hold on to leads. Ultimately, that falls on the head coach.

The Devils have a talented team that, on paper, should be in the mix for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They have a Hart Trophy winner, a Norris Trophy winner, and two of the best young centers in the NHL. Hynes has consistently failed to get the most out of his roster.

Bednar can point to the Colorado Avalanche making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in consecutive seasons and he has helped Nathan MacKinnon become an annual Hart Trophy contender. Even in his first season, during which the Avalanche had a .293% point percentage, Bednar had a “get out of jail free” card because he had to come in on short notice after Patrick Roy’s sudden departure.

Tocchet can point to injuries for his recent lack of postseason success with the Arizona Coyotes. Also, he did a fine job last season, nearly taking a team cursed by injuries to their forwards to the postseason. Though his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning draws some red flags, Tocchet has proven he is, at worst, a decent head coach.

Even Blashill’s poor record warrants a few asterisks. For one, he’s the guy stuck with the remains of a franchise that mortgaged its future for a few extra early exits from the postseason. Secondly, Blashill simply hasn’t been dealt a good hand. It’s hard to blame a poker player for losing when all he’s getting are low pairs and he’s not allowed to fold.

Hynes has no excuses for his decisions so far. He is costing the Devils points. It’s up to Hynes to put his players in positions where they succeed and he has failed to do that thus far. Though he signed a long-term deal in January of 2019, financial terms for coaches are very rarely released. Hynes wouldn’t be the first coach to lose his job shortly after signing an extension, nor would he be the last.

After the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup after firing their head coach in November, the Devils would be wise to put some pressure on their head coach. Firing a coach after four bad games wouldn’t be a smart decision. Hynes deserves a longer leash than that. However, if things don’t start improving soon, the Devils might need to change coaches to save their season. If Hynes isn’t on the hot seat now, he will be very soon unless he can help his team turn their season around.