John Hynes compared taking over as coach of the Minnesota Wild a quarter of the way into the season to jumping on a moving train when he joined the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Wednesday.
Hynes replaced Dean Evason on Nov. 27, when the Wild were 5-10-4. Minnesota has gone 11-6-0 in its first 17 games under Hynes, but injuries have become an issue with forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, defenseman Jonas Brodin and goalie Filip Gustavsson all sidelined.
Hynes talked about the injuries and incorporating some new players into the lineup, players he has no history with having just come on board in late November. He discussed the challenges of learning about the new players on the fly as opposed to training camp, the reasons why Kaprizov is one of, if not the most talented, player he has coached despite only being with him for a small sample size, and why goalie Marc-Andre Fleury demands our appreciation.
Fleury recently became the fourth goalie in NHL history to play 1,000 games. His next win will tie him with Patrick Roy for second in NHL history (551) behind Martin Brodeur (691).
Hynes said he can tell how much Fleury loves the game by just being around him and watching him interact in the dressing room. He also said with Gustavsson's injury, the Wild are going to have to ride Fleury, but thinks the 39-year-old goalie is up to the task.
In addition, co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke rehashed their experiences at the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic, touching on the success of the Seattle Kraken and reasons why the Vegas Golden Knights have hit a snag in their season after such a hot start.
They also talked about Fleury as part of a set of appreciation segments that included Connor McDavid, who on Tuesday became the fifth-fastest player to 900 points, and the legendary matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, which again was centerstage in the NHL on Tuesday with both future Hall of Famers scoring in a 4-3 win for the Washington Capitals.
Problems with the Toronto Maple Leafs and questions about the Tampa Bay Lightning were also part of the discussion with Rosen and Roarke.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
