Confirmed with Link: John Hynes to be named head coach

[herzausstein]

That game isn't on Hynes. You would think a coaching change would light a fire under the players' asses but evidently it didn't.

I am so disappointed in our leadership core.

I don't think he even got to practice with them. He'll get some leniency for the rest of the season.

That's more my concern.

Mine too. The only players i'm really seeing any passion from are Trenin/Blackwell (they're trying real hard to not get sent back to the AHL) and Grimaldi (he's playing to earn a good paycheck and prove he belongs in the NHL). Everyone else seems to be phoning it in.

 

[Predsanddead24]

We'll, it's something at least.

In my experience that's what a coach does during practices so the fact that this is even notable is bizarre. Was Lavi and his crew really not doing that previously? Like what did our practices consist of if he wasn't coaching people during them?

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

We'll, it's something at least.

Halle-freaking-lujah!

 

[GoldOnGold]

 

[Predsanddead24]

I'll say it again but the fact that this is newsworthy really makes me scratch my head. In any even moderately competitive league I've ever been apart of no coach just let's drills go on if the players are screwing it up over and over. If you don't all you're doing is practicing bad habits.

 

[GoldOnGold]

I'll say it again but the fact that this is newsworthy really makes me scratch my head. In any even moderately competitive league I've ever been apart of no coach just let's drills go on if the players are screwing it up over and over. If you don't all you're doing is practicing bad habits.

I really have no idea what Lavi normally did in his practices. I guess the media guys probably would, but I am not sure if they're reporting on this stuff because it's different or because it's Hynes' first practice.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I really have no idea what Lavi normally did in his practices. I guess the media guys probably would, but I am not sure if they're reporting on this stuff because it's different or because it's Hynes' first practice.

Yeah who knows. Bratten I believe works for the Preds so I could definitely see him being told to post stuff like this to show the world that they're trying to fix the issues. Vingan posting it is what makes me really question it as he doesn't have to answer to anyone in the org to my knowledge.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

Someone tweet Vingan and ask if this is really a big change for earlier practices.

 

[IceColdOx]

Talked to a few Devils fans and they like the hire despite him not doing so hot towards the end. He holds people accountable and hates mistakes. Saw a piece where he does a good job reducing shots and the PK with NJ was always solid under him. Give him some time.

John Hynes Trying to Salvage Nashville Predators Season

 

[zhok]

One thing Lavi did was push Poile out of his comfort zone. Before Lavi, Poile would *almost never* trade contributing roster players in a deal. He only would trade picks. Once Lavi came, all the sudden Poile trades for guys like Neal, Johanssen, Subban, while trading away valuable roster players. I won't debate the long term implication of those trades, just an observation that I think Lavi is the main reason Poile got pushed out of his comfort zone in those scenarios.

Lavi was a very abnormal hire for Poile. He usually hires calm, level-headed, "safe" people for jobs (i,e, Trotz)... people like himself. Laviolette didn't fit that mold... he's more volatile, both in personality and results.

The results were good the first two years, though Trotz did win his cup in the time period. But Lavi was the guy needed to push Poile out of his comfort zone.

But the results did not stay. Our roster got more talent, and the results got worse. We've been a non-playoff team for the past 80+ games, with likely the most talented roster we've iced. Laviolette is the epitome of a coach who has a shelf life. Granted, the time on the shelf is usually pretty good.

While Laviolette was an out of the norm hire for Poile, this Hynes guy is Poile crawling back to his comfort zone.

 

[Armourboy]

It wouldn't shock me at all if McCarthy's practices were just, you skate here hard, you there hard, pass there, there. Our breakout and team passing has never been a bright spot in Lavi's tenure.

 

[hockey diva]

Team passing has never been a strength of this franchise period!

 

[Armourboy]

Team passing has never been a strength of this franchise period!

With the skill level Trotz had for a lot of years that was a bit more acceptable, but with the skill level Lavi has had that should have never really been an issue.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Team passing has never been a strength of this franchise period!

They just save it up for the PP.

 

[Predsanddead24]

They just save it up for the PP.

They do love to pass on the PP but they still don't do it well. I can't count how many times this season we make the right read on a cross-ice pass on the PP but the pass is in the guy's skates or behind him and the opportunity that was there closes up.

 

[Legionnaire11]

An excerpt from a book i'm reading...

Defenseman Rob Scuderi and I were teammates on the 2012 Kings championship team. Not only is he my favorite NHLer of all time, he had one of the all-time greatest nicknames, one that accompanied him on his move from Pittsburgh to LA. Before the Pens' 2009 Cup run, a reporter asked him about the playoff push, he misspoke and said something like 'It's just nice that I can be the piece that can hopefully bring this together', as opposed to 'a piece'. Naturally, the boys jumped on this and his nickname became 'The Piece'.

 

[maplepred]

The more I hear about Hynes, the more I think I’ll like him. I think a lot of us had other guys in mind for the new coach and just did not expect Hynes to be the guy.

He’s growing on me already, plus we have the same haircut so I can relate to him a little lol.

 

[BigFatCat999]

The more I hear about Hynes, the more I think I’ll like him. I think a lot of us had other guys in mind for the new coach and just did not expect Hynes to be the guy.

He’s growing on me already, plus we have the same haircut so I can relate to him a little lol.

When I wore a suit I looked like Trotz's illegitimate son.

 

[Byrddog]

"There’s plenty of talent on the roster, but a new voice in the locker room may have been needed. Laviolette is a players coach while Hynes comes in with a tougher edge."

NBC Sports’ Mike Milbury said the team’s top three centres “are overpaid and don’t try hard enough.”

The Predators have talented defencemen like Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis that love to jump into rushes. That style was a welcome change from the more defensive game that Trotz ran in his long tenure. Nashville’s defence was terrifying on offence for two or three seasons under Laviolette’s system.
However, it seemed like players were caught up ice more than normal and the goalie duo of Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros weren’t covering up those mistakes with their goalie play. It seemed like mistakes weren’t being covered like they had been in the past
Like we did not know that.....

New Jersey also didn’t give up a lot of shots and had the fourth-lowest expected goals against rate on the penalty kill. It’ll help that Hynes will be able to draw from a better defensive group with players like Josi, the still injured Ellis and Mattias Ekholm. There are also talented forwards like Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Bonino on the roster that can limit shots and opportunities
Have to take that as a positive.

The first two quotes are critical how Johansen reacts in particular with the Jackets he had issues with this type of coaching especially Torts who benched him. I think Duchene will turn it up a knotch he did under Roy. Turris that's a wild card I do not know what his reaction will be.

It sounds like there is going to be a focus on the PK and supporting the goalies from Hynes and pressure on the forwards to perform. With the next three games on the road how much can he get out of practice???? Will they be able to shut down these three team of scoring forwards or are we still going to endure 4-3 losses. With Ellis out and Fabbro questionable we still may not know anything after these three games. I do not think any of us expected a win over Boston but the team did not look to even be in the same league with them. I really wanted that win not just for the Preds but for the Bolts as well.

 

[adsfan]

Just an AHL swap.

We swapped a too light Center for one that is 6'6" and a taller version of Trenin. It will help Milwaukee. Tonight, the Ads played the 13th forward (Craggs) and the 8th defenseman (Atwal) in a 3-2 loss to Grand Rapids. Both McCarron and Atwal played well. McCarron was the best player for Milwaukee tonight.

 

[Kat Predator]

We swapped a too light Center for one that is 6'6" and a taller version of Trenin. It will help Milwaukee. Tonight, the Ads played the 13th forward (Craggs) and the 8th defenseman (Atwal) in a 3-2 loss to Grand Rapids. Both McCarron and Atwal played well. McCarron was the best player for Milwaukee tonight.

McCarron could be a guy they bring up to fill Sissons role, while Sissons is out on IR. Especially if they work out a trade to move someone like Turris.

 

[triggrman]

One thing Lavi did was push Poile out of his comfort zone. Before Lavi, Poile would *almost never* trade contributing roster players in a deal. He only would trade picks. Once Lavi came, all the sudden Poile trades for guys like Neal, Johanssen, Subban, while trading away valuable roster players. I won't debate the long term implication of those trades, just an observation that I think Lavi is the main reason Poile got pushed out of his comfort zone in those scenarios.

Lavi was a very abnormal hire for Poile. He usually hires calm, level-headed, "safe" people for jobs (i,e, Trotz)... people like himself. Laviolette didn't fit that mold... he's more volatile, both in personality and results.

The results were good the first two years, though Trotz did win his cup in the time period. But Lavi was the guy needed to push Poile out of his comfort zone.

But the results did not stay. Our roster got more talent, and the results got worse. We've been a non-playoff team for the past 80+ games, with likely the most talented roster we've iced. Laviolette is the epitome of a coach who has a shelf life. Granted, the time on the shelf is usually pretty good.

While Laviolette was an out of the norm hire for Poile, this Hynes guy is Poile crawling back to his comfort zone.

You think Bryan Murray or Terry Murray fit that description?

 

[Legionnaire11]

Yeah I wouldn't say Laviolette was forcing Poile to do anything. Actually based on the quotes about "he does his job and I do mine", it sounded like they didn't work together much at all, which could have been one of the issues.

 

[Oneiro]

Talked to a few Devils fans and they like the hire despite him not doing so hot towards the end. He holds people accountable and hates mistakes. Saw a piece where he does a good job reducing shots and the PK with NJ was always solid under him. Give him some time.

Hey, Devils fan here. Was just curious to see what Preds fans are seeing and how an experienced roster does under Hynes. I will say I was not a fan of his system and his development, but the jury is out as to whether our lost season is mostly on his tactics or the roster and its youth/imbalance.

I did have a note about the NJ PK and Hynes. The penalty kill is the most player-discernment driven game state, and the Devils have four smart, great PKers in Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman, Pavel Zacha and Nico Hischier. I will say that a PK that has those four on it is more often than not going to be a top 10 PK in the league so I'm not sure how much stock I'd put in Hynes' system there. After a rough start, the team is trending back towards being a top 10 PK once again.

In general, Hynes is a pro with the media and accurately assesses what's wrong when things aren't going well. He will never embarrass his players or the fans with his pressers. He's open to analytics but doesn't blindly implement them (not that any NHL coach does yet). I'll also say that I think he seems to get players to focus on the right things over the summer - a lot of players including Hall, improved various technical skills season to season.

But I hated how the team defended under him. Bad stick checking, bad body position, bad angles to the puck carriers. A total 180 from the one thing the Devils always did well under Lou (regardless of the roster). In general I think he was very poor at getting players to be more "literate" and make better reads, especially at both blue lines. The Devils under Hynes made so many catastrophic errors at the most vulnerable spots on the ice. Scott Stevens put it well:



Anyway. I wish you guys the best. Always look forward to seeing the Preds make a run and I sincerely hope you guys do that.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

I'm excited for tonight's game. Though we are only two games into seeing what the new coach can do with this team and there isn't a large sample size to prove the results of the coaching change it is fun to watch. At least for me.

• We've been talking about the ills of the man on man defense since last season and suddenly with a simple system change the team looks much better in their own zone.
• After several years of talking about our centers under performing we get to see if their production can go up to league average numbers by being the outlet pass in the Dzone and becoming a major part of the breakouts.
• Also seeing the beginnings of a PK structure and thought process that should be much better. Aggressive when the opponent doesn't have control of the puck but compact and patient when they have full possession. Still seeing some of them chasing too much but can see that they realize what they're doing and get back into position.
• Waiting to see what is implemented for the offensive zone and how they will try to cycle the puck and attack as a team. Hoping defensemen will be scolded for hanging out below the dots or even goalline like they're forwards.
• And last but definitely not least! Get that Power Play going!!

Anyway, all I'm expecting tonight is more development into a team with some structure so that when players try to do "more" they are doing is for a reason within the team concept.