New Jersey Devils: John Hynes Coaching Himself Into A Corner

New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes has been quick to preach accountability for his team. However, if he’s quick to pull the trigger on some players, he will get slack if he doesn’t do it to others.

The New Jersey Devils released their practice lines on Saturday afternoon. When Andrew Gross with NorthJersey.com released said lines, something was glaring about them.

Everything looks like it’s business as usual, until you get to the last defensive line. So, basically, Sami Vatanen and Damon Severson have to split time for the last defensive spot.

I get it. Vatanen had a terrible game against the Dallas Stars, and was a penalty machine against the St. Louis Blues. Two bad games in a row isn’t what you want to see from Vatanen. Severson was sitting for those two games. On paper, it makes sense to switch the two to get a different look.

However, hockey isn’t played on paper.

Vatanen was playing out of his mind in the five games prior to that two game stretch. He was by far the best defensive player on the ice, both offensive and defensively. Severson is still one of the most talented players on the team. He deserved the six-year deal he signed before the season.

When you look at the play on the ice, neither of them are the overall problem for the defense. Andy Greene has been making some big mistakes that are unlike him. John Moore hasn’t been exactly elite. Steve Santini has been mistake prone at times.

So here’s where things get dicey for head coach John Hynes. Hynes claims that Severson is sitting because of his recent play. Basically, he’s making it seem like he’s forgotten what he can bring to the table because of what he’s done over a few games. If he sits Vatanen, that’s exactly the same thing.

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However, he hasn’t sat Greene. Moore doesn’t ride the pine after a bad game or two.

This started as an issue when Hynes sat Pavel Zacha for what felt like forever. Clearly Zacha is supremely skilled and can bring a lot to this lineup. He’s part of the Devils present and future. That’s the thing, Hynes was playing an ice cold Drew Stafford and Jimmy Hayes over him.

Now, both Hayes and Stafford have been a healthy scratch. It seemed like all was right with the world. Then Severson was benched.

It would be one thing if the player behind him was a world beater, or even a change of pace guy. Nope. It’s no pace Ben Lovejoy. Not trying to rag on Lovejoy, because he’s been much better than he was last year, but he just doesn’t fit the pace of this team.

If Hynes continues to preach accountability, then he needs to practice what he preaches. If he’s going to sit players for accountability, then that needs to be the rule for all players. If he is picking and choosing his spots, he needs to say that. If he doesn’t, it will just confuse and frustrate his players. That’s never something a coach wants to happen.