This season clearly ended in disappointment for the Minnesota Wild, even before the final game, due to their postseason elimination a week before. While there were many reasons for how the season ended, head coach John Hynes deserves very little blame.
After firing former head coach Dean Evason following a 5-10-4 start, Hynes was brought in to try something new. The team responded immediately with a 3-1 win at home over their division rival, the St. Louis Blues, but teams with new coaches typically respond.
What they did after that first game earned some respect for both the team and the coach. Through the month of December, they went 9-5, including two wins over the Boston Bruins, and things looked to be finally heading in the right direction. However, they were hit with numerous injuries and couldn’t keep the momentum going, so they started losing games. In this article, we’ll look at how Hynes led the team and why he deserves to stay, starting with his leadership.
Hynes Earned Respect
When they first take over a team, many coaches want to change everything to fit their style, not Hynes. Instead of changing a struggling roster, he stuck with what was there and only made minor adjustments. Before trying new combinations, he wanted to know the team first and see who fit in the lineup. He listened to the players and started to see where things could be changed.
He earned their respect and trust before making changes that might not have worked without the team’s willingness. They figured out how to win games and how to get through losing them as well. When Hynes first took over the team, he didn’t blame Evason for how they played or blamed anyone; he just worked to fix it in his own style.
When Hynes joined the team, he respected the leadership team already in place in their captains and the team’s talent. He found a way to get them to dig deep and believe they could turn it around, and they did.
Hynes Made Changes
Past Wild coaches have struggled with making changes when necessary, when things weren’t working, and that was part of the reason they couldn’t win. When Hynes joined, the team was winning at first, but when things got hard, he did what needed to be done. He changed the line combinations, and none of the lines were safe.
Even the top line was changed to create a spark, and it did. He wasn’t afraid to switch up the defense and goaltenders. Anything that could be changed was changed, and he found new ways to create chemistry. However, even those new lines lost their spark after a while, so Hynes returned to the drawing board and made even more changes to find another spark.
He didn’t give up making changes until the end, and even after the season was over, he brought up the young kids to give them time on the ice. He also had the chance to see what these kids could do in the current lineup he’ll be dealing with next season, including Jesper Wallstedt‘s goaltending.
Hynes Stayed Composed
Throughout his first season with the Wild, Hynes wasn’t afraid to make changes and adjust the roster as he saw fit to try and find a spark. He figured out what worked and what didn’t, plus he dealt with quite a few injuries. These weren’t minor injuries either; these were injuries to his top defensemen and even his top scorer at one point. He maintained his composure despite going through all he did with this up-and-down season.
Related: How Has John Hynes Done so far as Minnesota Wild Head Coach
Some coaches would get extremely angry on the bench with how the Wild played some of their games, but regardless of what he was feeling, he kept himself composed on the bench. He didn’t get overly emotional whether it be overly angry or happy, he stayed pretty neutral. As we’ve seen in the past, teams tend to mimic their coach’s emotions, and the Wild struggled with that in the past when it came to overly frustrating times. Having a coach who can keep their emotions in check is extremely important, and Hynes is that coach.
Hynes Earned His Spot
Hynes is a coach who studies other teams and is always willing to learn new things. When things stopped working with the Wild, he continuously tried new things and didn’t give up. With everything he went through this season, he’s earned a second chance to see what he can do with an entire season and a clean slate. Hopefully, he can find the right combinations and start the 2024-25 season with some wins.