Hynes to coach 1st game with Wild after Evason fired

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- John Hynes believes the Minnesota Wild are a better team than they've performed.

Hynes, who was hired by Minnesota on Monday, will make his coaching debut with the Wild when they host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; BSWIX, BSN, BSMW) and attempt to end a seven-game losing streak (0-5-2).

He replaces Dean Evason, who was fired after a 5-10-4 start. Assistant coach Bob Woods was also fired.

"I think when you come into these situations, the team's hurt in certain ways, whether that's individual player's confidence, whether it's belief and execution of what you want to do," Hynes said. "I think you have to come in and first and foremost, it's important to get to know the players; it's on the fly. I believe when you come into this situation, everybody's hurting. It's a tough situation for the coaching staff, the training staff, particularly the players, so I think it's important to really come in and connect with those guys."

Evason, 59, was 147-77-26 in five seasons since replacing Bruce Boudreau on Feb. 14, 2020. He was 8-15 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, qualifying each of his four previous seasons, but Minnesota never advanced past the first round.

The Wild rank last on the penalty kill (66.7 percent) and 31st in goals-against per game (3.95), ahead of only the San Jose Sharks (4.00).

On Nov. 12, Minnesota lost 8-3 at home to the Dallas Stars, giving up five power-play goals and two short-handed.

"Losses pile up, this is what happens," Wild forward Marcus Foligno said Tuesday. "Unfortunately, there are coaches that have to take that fall on the knife for players like us. It's not fair, but at the same time, it's a wake-up call -- and we've had enough of these this year to understand what's needed and we need to get out of it. It's playing simple. It's on us."

Hynes, 48, guided Nashville to the playoffs during his first three seasons and was 134-95-18 after replacing Peter Laviolette on Jan. 7, 2020. He was fired as New Jersey Devils coach Dec. 3, 2019, one season after taking them to the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12. He is 284-255-63 in 602 regular-season games and 4-15 in 19 playoff games.

The Predators failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season (42-32-8) for the first time since 2013-14, when they finished three points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card from the Western Conference. They had qualified for eight consecutive seasons and advanced to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hynes was fired by the Predators on May 30 and replaced by Andrew Brunette the next day.

"He's going to give us everything we need," said Wild forward Pat Maroon, who played for Hynes in New Jersey for part of the 2017-18 season. "He's engaged into the players. He wants the best for the players. He brings the best out of players, too. He's going to lean on us and I think he's going to be good for us.

"He's an intense coach. He'll bring some life back into this room that we need. And he's got energy, and he's got structure and he's really looking for this because we've got a great team on paper. Now we just have to go out there and do it. You never want to say hopefully a new voice will change it, but hopefully. I think he's going to come in and help us a lot here."

Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin anticipates Hynes to reignite a spark and confidence that had been the Wild's identity the past two seasons, when they finished the regular season with 100-plus points (103 in 2022-23; 113 in 2021-22).

"You know, like John said, he's not going to come in here and reinvent the wheel or make wholesale changes," Guerin said. "It's little tweaks here and there, but I think I know this team really well. I know these players really well. Their buy-in level is really high, too. I think they'll listen to John right away. I think the buy-in will be right away. It just feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders and then it's, like I said, it's tough because it comes with a tough message, a tough decision. It's a new chapter.

"I think with a coaching change, 'Hey look, it's like the slate is clean'. For the guys. It's a new day. It's a new voice. They're going to get a new message."

Evason is the second coach fired this season. The Edmonton Oilers replaced Jay Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch on Nov. 12.

"Difficult day yesterday on one end, and then on the other end, we turn the page, we begin a new chapter and I'm very excited to have John Hynes join the Minnesota Wild as our as our head coach," Guerin said. "… I think he's going to have tremendous amount of success here."