John Hynes

John Hynes (born February 10, 1975) is an American professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators.

Playing career A 1997 graduate of Boston University, Hynes was a three-year letterman for the Terriers as a forward and participated in four straight NCAA Frozen Four tournaments. In 1995, Boston University captured the 1995 NCAA Division I national championship in front of Hynes' home crowd in Providence, Rhode Island. Hynes earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education.

Coaching career

College coaching career Hynes was a former assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts Lowell during the 2000–01 season. In the 2002–03 season, he became an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin.

USA Hockey After the 2002–03 season, Hynes spent the next six seasons as a head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He posted an overall record of 216–113–19–9 as the team's head coach.

Hynes served as assistant coach of the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where they won gold medals after defeating Canada 2–1 in overtime.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins On August 4, 2009, Hynes was named an assistant coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, by general manager Ray Shero. He served as an assistant under coach Todd Reirden. On July 31, 2010, the WBS Penguins announced that Hynes would be the team's new head coach after Reirden was promoted to an assistant coaching position for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Under Hynes, the WBS Penguins qualified for the playoffs in all five seasons, reaching the conference finals twice.

New Jersey Devils On June 2, 2015, Hynes was named as head coach of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing Scott Stevens and Adam Oates. He became the youngest head coach in the NHL for the 2015–16 season. On April 5, 2018, Hynes coached the Devils to their first playoff appearance since the 2011–12 season. However, they lost in the First Round to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. On January 3, 2019, Hynes signed a multi-year contract extension with the Devils.

On December 3, 2019, Hynes was fired by the Devils and was replaced by assistant coach Alain Nasreddine.

Nashville Predators On January 7, 2020, Hynes was named as head coach of the Nashville Predators, replacing Peter Laviolette. Hynes was fired on May 30, 2023, after parts of four seasons in Nashville.

Minnesota Wild On November 27, 2023, Hynes was appointed head coach of the Minnesota Wild.

Awards AHL 2011 – Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award 2023 - Inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame

Hynes was inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.

Head coaching record

NHL Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result NJD 2015–16 82 38 36 8 84 7th in Metropolitan — — — Missed playoffs NJD 2016–17 82 28 40 14 70 8th in Metropolitan — — — Missed playoffs NJD 2017–18 82 44 29 9 97 5th in Metropolitan 1 4 Lost in first round (TBL) NJD 2018–19 82 31 41 10 72 8th in Metropolitan — — — Missed playoffs NJD 2019–20 26 9 13 4 (22) (fired) — — — —NJD total 354 150 159 45 1 4 1 playoff appearance NSH 2019–20 28 16 11 1 33 5th in Central 1 3 Lost in qualifying round (ARI) NSH 2020–21 56 31 23 2 64 4th in Central 2 4 Lost in first round (CAR) NSH 2021–22 82 45 30 7 97 5th in Central 0 4 Lost in first round (COL) NSH 2022–23 82 42 32 8 92 5th in Central — — — Missed playoffsNSH total 248 134 96 18 3 11 3 playoff appearances MIN 2023–24 63 34 24 5 (73) 6th in Central — — — Missed playoffs MIN 2024–25 82 45 30 7 97 4th in Central 2 4 Lost in first round (VGK) MIN 2025–26 82 46 24 12 104 3rd in Central 5 6 Lost in second round (COL)MIN total 227 125 78 24 7 10 2 playoff appearanceTotal 829 409 333 87 6 19 6 playoff appearances

AHL Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result WBS 2010–11 80 58 21 1 117 1st in East 6 6 Lost in division finals (CHA) WBS 2011–12 76 44 25 7 95 2nd in East 6 6 Lost in conference semifinals (STJ) WBS 2012–13 76 42 30 4 88 3rd in East 8 7 Lost in conference finals (SYR) WBS 2013–14 76 42 26 8 92 2nd in East 9 8 Lost in conference finals (STJ) WBS 2014–15 76 45 24 7 97 2nd in East 4 4 Lost in conference semifinals (MCH)Total 384 231 126 27 33 31 5 playoff appearances