New Jersey Devils: What Needs To Happen To Make Playoffs
By Nick Villano
John Hynes Is A Better Coach
An underlying fact this offseason is the work of head coach John Hynes. He just wasn’t a good coach last season. That’s extremely disappointing, because he was so good in his first season as an NHL head coach.
He just made bad decisions with everything. The line combinations didn’t make sense at times. He misused his timeouts to the point that it lost the team games. What’s worse, when the Devils fell into a funk he couldn’t figure out how to get them out of it.
The Devils are going to need the best Hynes can be with such a young team. He will need to coach up players like Pavel Zacha and Stefan Noesen. Especially players who could make the team like Miles Wood and Michael McLeod, the coach will be so important.
Hynes showed he can be a great coach, but may have been in over his head last season. The expectations were high with Taylor Hall making his debut in New Jersey. This season, the Devils are playing with the same expectations Hynes dealt with when he excelled. It has to go well for Hynes, or he may be looking for a job by December.