The Nashville Predators have officially fired John Hynes and assistant coach Dan Lambert. They hired Andrew Brunette as the club's new coach on Wednesday.
John Hynes with Dan Lambert standing to his right.There's been a change behind the bench in the Music City.
The Nashville Predators became the latest team to make a coaching swap on Tuesday, relieving John Hynes and assistant coach Dan Lambert of their duties behind the bench. They replaced Hynes with former Predators forward Andrew Brunette on Wednesday.
Hynes and Lambert had one year left on their contracts, but the Predators said they are allowed to seek employment elsewhere.
"John Hynes is a good man and a good hockey coach," incoming GM Barry Trotz said in a Predators press release. "He did an outstanding job after the trade deadline with our team, especially with our young players, and he is a well-prepared, hard-working coach who will continue to grow in the NHL.
"After our year-end meetings and some additional evaluation, it was time to change the voice and time to go in a different direction."
Hynes spent parts of four seasons in Nashville after being hired in 2020, leading the Predators to three post-season appearances, each of which ultimately ended in a first-round exit. In 248 regular season games behind the bench, Hynes departs with a 134-96-18 record.
Heading back to Nashville, Brunette will now embark upon his first-ever NHL coaching job that doesn't come accompanied by an interim tag. The former big-league forward took over for Joel Quenneville in the 2021-22 season after the latter resigned due to his role in the Chicago Blackhawks' sexual assault scandal and proceeded to lead the Florida Panthers to the Presidents' Trophy, finishing with a 51-18-6 record in 75 games before guiding the club to a first-round playoff victory over the Washington Capitals.
After being replaced by Paul Maurice last off-season following a second-round sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brunette joined Lindy Ruff's staff with the New Jersey Devils as an associate coach and helped transform the roster into one of the most exciting in the league.
"We want to become more of an offensive team, and Andrew specializes on that side of the ice - he lived it as a player, and he coaches it as a coach," Trotz said in a statement on Wednesday. "He is as good of an offensive teacher and power-play coach as there is in the game today. He will be great with our young players, and I know, because of his background as a player, he will connect well with our top, skilled players."
Now, with Trotz set to take the helm as GM, the Predators can head into next season with a steady foundation overseeing their future success.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Washington Capitals named Spencer Carbery as their new coach, making it two coaches who will be non-interim head coaches in the NHL for the first time.