There is going to be a much bigger bar for New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes this season. If Ray Shero is planning on doing big things after acquiring P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds, John Hayden, and Nikita Gusev, there is no time to mess around. The window of playoff contention is beginning to open, and John Hynes was given an extension along with Ray Shero by owners Joshua Harris and David Blitzer thinking they could be the players to lead them to the promised land.
The Devils owners have been very patient in the rebuilding process and are very solid private equity guys when they aren’t at Devils games. These owners have put a lot of time and money into hockey analytics, the GM in Ray Shero, building the player development, plus scouting. Now, it is time to see if Coach John Hynes can get the best out of the players Ray Shero acquired for him. Ray is done flying to NHL Draft Lotteries. Now he really wants to go for the big push which is Lord Stanley’s Cup.
2019-20 is a must succeed season for Coach Hynes. He demands a lot from his players whether it’s a rookie or a veteran. If you have seen Behind The Glass by NHL Network now on YouTube, you can see the intensity, and the drive John has. He has coached from The US National hockey programs to even the IIHF level as an assistant coach. But it’s time to get John to adjust for a big 82-game season and see how he can build this years Devils team from star forwards, bottom pairing defenders, and even addressing the goaltending.
So, what do we need to see from Hynes this season to see him coach this team into the future?