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5 candidates who can replace John Hynes as New Jersey Devils’ head coach

By Mary Clarke

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 01: Head coach Dan Bylsma, David Legwand #17 and Josh Gorges #4 of the Buffalo Sabres talk on the bench during an NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 1, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 01: Head coach Dan Bylsma, David Legwand #17 and Josh Gorges #4 of the Buffalo Sabres talk on the bench during an NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 1, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils fired head coach John Hynes on Tuesday in the midst of a disappointing season. Who should replace him as the Devils’ full time coach?

John Hynes’ firing by the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday was not a surprise. The team had lost the night before in a 7-1 embarrassment to the Buffalo Sabres, and for much of the season the team had been dragging their heels with a 9-14-4 record on the year.

The Devils, despite their major additions in the offseason, were not going to get off the ground with the weaknesses their team had, and Hynes paid the price for it with his firing in early December. New Jersey’s season is finished from a postseason standpoint — unless a Blues’ style run is in them — as the team looks ahead to their future from this point on.

Hynes became the third NHL head coach fired over the last two weeks as the league’s coaching carousel spins on through the first third of the season. The NHL will maybe see one or two more head coaches let go in-season, while the rest of the coaches on hot seats will get canned — as they often do — after the season ends in the spring.

New Jersey, at the moment, is riding with Alain Nasreddine as the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of the season. While the Devils may decide to keep him, here are five potential head coaching hires New Jersey could make in the offseason to replace Hynes.

(Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /

5. Bruce Boudreau

The Minnesota Wild are currently in the hunt for a wild card spot in the Western Conference, not at all where we’d thought they’d be two months into the season. Minnesota was expected by many to be out of the running for playoff contention this season, with an aging roster and lack of offensive firepower.

Earlier in the season, Boudreau was on the hot seat as the Wild ended the month of October with a 4-9-0 record, but the team has since turned it around as they’ve entered December with a 13-11-4 record. The consensus still seems to be, however, that this season is Boudreau’s last with the Wild.

Boudreau is in the last season of his contract with the Wild, making it very easy for Minnesota to let him walk after the season ends. The Wild hired new general manager Bill Guerin in August, and it’s quite possible that he’ll want to have his own staff implemented fully by next season.

If the Wild do make a playoff push, it’s harder to see Minnesota letting Boudreau fall by the wayside. Boudreau is a career 540-279-108 head coach and has taken a team to the postseason 10 times in 12 seasons, and his emergence onto the market would make him a high-profile target for the Devils and all NHL teams.

New Jersey may need someone with the resume Boudreau has to help get the team out of the regular season and into the playoffs.

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