By Jordan Long
The Nashville Predators finished the season 42-32-8 for a total of 92 points, missing the playoffs by 3 points. Nashville played their last game of the season on April 14th when they lost to Colorado 4-3. It looked like John Hynes was going to be back as Head Coach. Nashville changed course on Tuesday and fired Hynes. They were quick to find his replacement, hiring Andrew Brunette.
Hynes was hired by Nashville on January 7th, 2020. He had NHL head coaching experience with the New Jersey Devils, lasting from 2015 to 28 games into the 2020 season. Hynes went 150-159-45 with New Jersey. The Devils earned one playoff spot with him, 2018. They were beaten in the first-round by Tampa Bay. At the time of the firing, New Jersey stood at 9-13-4 for a total of 22 points.
Nashville had just let go of Peter Laviolette following a 19-15-7 start to the year. Hynes went 16-11-1. The NHL finished the season in the bubble. Nashville was knocked out in the qualifying round by Arizona in the best of 5, 3-1. Nashville expected better results with Hynes.
In 2021 and 2022, the Predators earned a playoff spot. They were both first-round exits. In 2021, Carolina knocked them out in 6 games. Last year, Colorado swept Nashville on their way to winning the Cup.
This year there were higher expectations. Nashville wanted to make more noise in the postseason. Unfortunately, they fell short of that goal and didn’t even earn a playoff spot. It looked like Hynes was going to be back behind the bench next year. Nashville had a change of heart and fired Hynes. He leaves Nashville with a 134-95-18 record. Nashville decided to hire Andrew Brunette as their next Head Coach.
According to ESPN, Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz said, “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. 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.”
Brunette brings in 75 games of Head Coaching experience, occurring last year with Florida. Florida went 51-18-6 under him. Florida finished with a 58-18-6 record for a total of 122 points, winning the President’s Trophy since they had the most points in the league. In the playoffs, Florida was swept in the second-round by Tampa Bay. They were outscored 13 to 3 in the series.
It looked like Brunette would be back this past season as Florida’s Head Coach. Florida though decided to go with Paul Maurice who is now coaching the team in the Stanley Cup Final.
Brunette is a good choice as Head Coach. He may not have that much head coaching knowledge, but he knows how to help a team win. Nashville will give Brunette a few years to build a winning team. They would like to earn a playoff spot and advance far every year. The goal of course is to win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully Brunette can deliver.
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