ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild will take the ice Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues on an active 7-game losing streak, with a new but familiar face at the helm trying to end it.
NHL bench veteran John Hynes was officially introduced Tuesday morning as the Wild's new head coach, just hours after Dean Evason was fired after more than four years on the job.
"We haven't been good for a long stretch," Wild General Manager Bill Guerin told reporters at a press conference at team headquarters in St. Paul. "It just didn't feel right, you feel it and you know it."
In Hynes, Guerin is bringing in a coach and friend he knows well. The two worked together in the Pittsburg Penguins minor league system, and share many of the same beliefs and philosophies of the game.
For his part, Hynes told reporters he is excited for another opportunity to coach in the NHL, and said Minnesota is a great place to do it. Hynes called the "X" an exciting and difficult place to play as ann opposing coach, complimented the Wild's engaged fan base and noted that his wife hails from nearby Hammond, Wis.
Turning things starts not with an overhaul, he believes, but with healing a roster and staff suffering from a crisis of confidence.
"I think you have to come in, first and foremost, it's important to get to know the players," Hynes reflected, having been through transitions twice in New Jersey and Nashville. "It's on the fly, but I believe when you come into this situation everybody is hurting. It's a tough situation for the coaching staff, training staff, particularly the players. So I think it's important to come in and connect with those guys, connect with the coaches, get feedback from the players on what they're seeing and feeling, that's the start of it."
Long term, Hynes wants to see the Wild play faster and with speed, execute better with the puck, be more organized in their own end and get the defensive corp more involved in the offensive end. As for day one on the job, Hynes will let his assistants handle Tuesday's skate around while he meets with players and tries to get them comfortable before tonight's home tilt against St. Louis.
While the locker room will have lots of new faces, some will be familiar to Hynes. He has coached Jon Merrill, Marcus Johansson, Freddy Gaudreau and Pat Maroon at the NHL or international level, and knows goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from his time in the Pittsburg organization.
Guerin says the hiring of Hynes is not an interim thing, but a move for the long haul. He believes his friend can restore confidence and return the swagger to his once-successful hockey team, and improve their ability to make plays.
"The slate is clean for these guys," the GM insists. "It's a new day, it's a new voice, they're going to get a new message."
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