Devils fire head coach and replace him pronto!

Another coach gets the boot!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Devils fire head coach and replace him pronto!
Zuma Press

The John Hynes era has come to an end in New Jersey. 

The Devils have announced that they have fired their head coach on Tuesday. 

Team insider Chris Ryan of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com was first to report that the Devils were expected to fire their head coach within the next 24-48 hours, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Ryan was also first to report that the Devils would name assistant coach Alain Nasreddine as interim head coach, which they have. 



"John played an integral role in the development of this team in establishing a foundation for our future and we are grateful for his commitment, passion and unmatched work ethic," said GM Ray Shero. "John is a respected leader, developer of talent and friend which makes this decision difficult. We are a team that values and takes pride in accountability to the results we produce. We are collectively disappointed in our performance on the ice and believe changes were needed, starting with our head coach. I have been consistent in my desire to build something here in New Jersey that earns the respect of teams throughout the league and pride in our fans. That is not where we were heading and for me to tolerate anything less was not acceptable."

This ends Hynes' five-year tenure behind the Devils’ bench. 

Some fans thoughts the Devils’ struggles were coming to an end when they bounced back in November, however, they suffered back-to-back humiliating defeats on Saturday and Monday, losing 4-0 to the New York Rangers and 7-1 to the Buffalo Sabres. 

The Devils face the Vegas Golden Knights tonight with Nasreddine behind the bench for his first game as bench boss. 

Hynes has a 150-159-18 record during his four-plus seasons with the Devils. The team made the playoffs in 2017-18 with 97 points, and the team played to a surprising 38-36-8 record during his first season in 2015-16. But the Devils also finished toward the bottom of the standings twice, posting 70 points in 2016-17 and 72 points in 2018-19.

The Devils were quite busy over the summer, not only landing first overall pick Jack Hughes, but also acquired defenseman P.K. Subban and signing free agent Wayne Simmonds to a contract. As the team now attempts to keep star pending UFA Taylor Hall on the roster, a change behind the bench might be the only solution.

Source: NJ.com