The New Jersey Devils quickly got over the spotlight of bringing in Jack Hughes and enjoying his NHL debut thanks to a last-place start to their season. That led to them firing head coach John Hynes on Tuesday afternoon following a 9-13-4 to their 2019-2020 season. Hynes will be replaced by Alain Nastreddine, who is taking over on an interim basis. The Devils' 22 points are the second-fewest in the league.
Hynes was hired in 2015, but his past two seasons have been two of the most forgettable ones in franchise history, as they have a total record of 40-54-14 in that time. That puts his overall record at 150-159-45 in the four-plus seasons with the Devils, where they have only made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs once. Even with those recent struggles, he does finish second in team history in games coached, wins, and points.
Along with Nastreddine stepping in as the interim head coach, pro scout Peter Horachek was added to the coaching staff, giving them a bit more NHL coaching experience since he has been an interim coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. That will take over a team that had high expectations coming in to the season with the addition of Hughes, as they also acquired P.K. Subban and got Taylor Hall back from injury. Despite all of that, they rank 30th in defense, 29th in offense, and their .882 save percentage is good for 29th. They had little time to prepare to move on, as they played host to the Las Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday night.
Hynes was hired in 2015, but his past two seasons have been two of the most forgettable ones in franchise history, as they have a total record of 40-54-14 in that time. That puts his overall record at 150-159-45 in the four-plus seasons with the Devils, where they have only made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs once. Even with those recent struggles, he does finish second in team history in games coached, wins, and points.
Along with Nastreddine stepping in as the interim head coach, pro scout Peter Horachek was added to the coaching staff, giving them a bit more NHL coaching experience since he has been an interim coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. That will take over a team that had high expectations coming in to the season with the addition of Hughes, as they also acquired P.K. Subban and got Taylor Hall back from injury. Despite all of that, they rank 30th in defense, 29th in offense, and their .882 save percentage is good for 29th. They had little time to prepare to move on, as they played host to the Las Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday night.
