Nashville Predators: Three Big Storylines as Training Camp Approaches
By Chad Minton
Hynes’ first full season
It’s pretty incredible that Hynes is just the third head coach in franchise history. That’s a huge testament to the original head coach Barry Trotz and the foundation he was able to build.
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Peter Laviolette got the team within two wins of the Stanley Cup, but things started to fall apart after that. The team made the bold move to fire their previously successful head coach midseason, and Hynes was quickly rushed in.
The Predators skipped the route of naming an interim head coach and got Hynes behind the bench. There were mixed results under Hynes, but he did stop the bleeding to an extent and the team went 16-11-1 under Hynes and charged up the standings.
The pause happened just as the Predators were making a push for the third spot in the division behind the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Stars.
So overall, you can call it a successful partial first season for Hynes. But now the pressure is on in a 56-game schedule that will feature new divisions and two-game sets against teams only within the division.
What will this team look like and play like under Hynes? Should we expect the same philosophies as last season which preaches driving to the net and creating chaos, while also being much more defensively sound than what the team was under Laviolette.
For this team to win consistently again, they’re going to have to show improvement in their net presence on both sides of the ice. Better protection for their goaltenders and more opportunistic in collecting rebound goals and screening goaltenders.
I remain pretty optimistic in what Hynes can bring to the team, so he’s naturally a big focal point for training camp. He also has some new assistant coaches that are “player first” types of coaches in Dan Hinote and Todd Richards.