New Jersey Devils: Travis Zajac Injury Gives John Hynes Longer Leash

New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes could have been the worst part of last season. He was on the hot seat before Travis Zajac went down due to injury.

The New Jersey Devils went into last season with better expectations than in years past. The team had one of the best goalies in Cory Schneider giving them a chance every night. The offense was on its way with Kyle Palmieri and Adam Henrique coming off 30 goal seasons. A superstar was finally acquired when Ray Shero traded for Taylor Hall in the offseason. Everything seemed to be coming together.

One of the main reasons for the Devils optimism was the man behind the bench. John Hynes took a Devils team that was awful on paper, and willed them to 84 points. The team was nowhere near a contender, and many picked them to finish last in the league in 2015-16. Despite that, he was able to get more from his players than pure talent would suggest.

That did not happen last season. Hynes felt like he was out-coached on a nightly basis. His line pairings outside his top line didn’t seem to fit. He misused timeouts and generally didn’t do his players any favors. What’s even worse, he could not help snap the slumps of his veteran players, as Schneider, Mike Cammalleri and Devante Smith-Pelly dealt with some of the worst seasons of their careers.

Some experts thought Hynes wouldn’t make it past the offseason, but Shero wanted to give his guy another chance. The thought process was Hynes would have a short leash to start the year, but that all changed last week.

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The Devils lost the team’s top line center when Travis Zajac tore his pectoral muscle during offseason workouts. He will miss at least three months of the season, but maybe more. That fact puts a wrench in everyones plans, including Hynes’.

Now, if the season starts badly there is an excuse for Hynes. He can go into Shero’s office and tell him what’s going on with the team.

This Devils team looks bleak now that Zajac is out. The defense is still in shambles and there are question marks abound. Will Schneider continue his regression or can he bounce back? Can the offense play up to its potential without a top-line center? How will young players like Nico Hischier and Miles Wood play in the new offense? Too many questions without legitimate answers.

Hynes has a chance to bounce back after his sophomore slump. If he could find some of the magic that helped him lead a team of misfits to be competitive, then this season may work out. If not, he has enough of an excuse to at least make it to next offseason.