New Jersey Devils fire head coach John Hynes
The New Jersey Devils have officially parted ways with head coach John Hynes following a disappointing start to their season. He will be replaced by interim head coach Alain Nasreddine.
After a disappointing 2018-19 season, the New Jersey Devils decided to make some moves to get better. Not only did they draft Jack Hughes with the first overall pick, they also signed Wayne Simmonds, traded for P.K. Subban, and traded for Nikita Gusev. The faith that general manager Ray Shero put in head coach John Hynes is gone, as the Devils have officially fired him after four seasons.
Hynes will be replaced by assistant coach Alain Nasreddine, who will serve in an interim head coach role. Additionally, Peter Horachek, a pro scout, will serve as an assistant coach. Hynes will leave the Devils with a 150-159-45 record.
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This comes after the Devils began the season with a disappointing 9-13-4 record. That’s clearly not what they were expecting after making so many improvements to their roster this summer. The last straw probably came on Monday night after the Devils lost to the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 in an embarrassing effort.
Hynes signed an extension in January, but clearly, the Devils’ struggles this season was so immense, Shero had very little choice but to part ways with him. Shero is hoping the Devils can follow in the footsteps of the Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues, who were able to win Stanley Cups recently after replacing their head coaches during the season.
However, this might prove to be too little, too late. The Devils are well outside the postseason, as only the Detroit Red Wings are worse in the Eastern Conference. They are 10 points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Even if you consider the Devils have at least one game in hand over most of their competitors, that’s a pretty steep hill to climb.
That said, the Devils have enough talent to maybe make things interesting. 2017 first overall pick Nico Hischier and Hughes form a promising young duo of centers down the middle. Travis Zajac is quite capable as well. There’s also 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, though he might not be around for much longer unless the Devils turn things around quickly.
A huge reason for their struggles this season has been their goaltending. To say it’s been abysmal would be far too kind. Devils goaltenders have combined to post a .889% save percentage, which is the second-worst mark in the NHL. Only the Detroit Red Wings have gotten worse goaltending. If the Devils can reverse that trend, a playoff spot might still be plausible, albeit far from probable.
Nasreddine has served as an assistant coach since 2010 when he joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Shero was the Penguins general manager at the time. After Shero departed from Pittsburgh and was hired by the Devils, Nasreddine joined the Devils coaching staff as an assistant. This will be his first NHL head coaching job.
There won’t be much time for Nasreddine to get settled, as the Devils face the Vegas Golden Knights later today. After Tuesday’s game, though, the Devils will be off until Friday when they face the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Hynes clearly had to go. Frankly, the Devils probably should have fired him sooner. It’s not too late for Nasreddine to save New Jersey’s season. However, the odds are against him and the Devils have a monumental mountain to climb if they want to make the postseason.