Hynes Back Behind The Bench: “No Hard Feelings There”

A familiar face is coaching his second game with the Minnesota Wild tonight as the Nashville Predators look to win their seventh in a row.

John Hynes was hired as the Wild’s seventh head coach on Monday night replacing Dean Evason. His family is set to remain in Nashville with his three daughters in school while he learns a whole new personnel.

“Yeah for sure. Barry and I had talked and we were going through a process with it,” Hynes said about leaving Nashville on good terms. “We’ve talked since then and I just met with him and David Poile. There’s no hard feelings there. Unfortunately, it is what it is and it’s part of the business. I have a lot of respect for him and the organization. The Nashville experience was fantastic. I loved the people I worked with. That was probably what hurt the most.”

Minnesota is coming off a 3-1 win against the St. Louis Blues as Hynes made his debut on Tuesday. He makes his homecoming to the place where he also came in during the 2019-20 season.

While he was unemployed this summer he did have some interest from other organizations and went through interviews. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said on Caroline, Willy & D-Mase that Hynes was working as a consultant with the San Jose Sharks.

“This summer I interviewed with the Rangers. It’s two to four interviews through one week, you have time to think about it, and when it happens in-season it happens quick and you’re gone,” Hynes said.

“You’re jumping right in full steam where you’re getting to know your staff and everybody. In the summer you have the time to prepare and get to know people. I do feel like the experience in Nashville we did really well. There’s also things now I’m doing a little differently because I have the experience.”

Ahead of his second game behind the bench with the Wild, he took the initiative to learn from his new staff and develop those relationships.

“We spent two and a half to three hours going through the players and going through some of the things that are strengths and weaknesses of the team,” Hynes said. “I feel like when you have good people around you and get information that’s the best way to go.”

Hynes stated that the X’s and O’s will come with time through mindset and belief. He understands being a leader and making sure that he can create good relationships to establish a strong foundation.

While Hynes was consulting with Sharks head coach David Quinn he evaluated himself in that time in order to keep his mind sharp when given another chance.

“I talked with other players and general managers that I worked with and people I coached in the past whether it was New Jersey or Nashville to get real feedback on these things to do better with,” Hynes said.

“I tried to take time to do that and I feel like the in-depth discussions were hard-hitting answers and that was beneficial to me. As the league started I started to watch the games and stayed up on trends. I feel energized I feel really prepared for it.”

Stay tuned for the action tonight starting at 7 p.m. with Pete Weber on the call and analyst Jay More along for the ride.