Nashville Predators: The Case For and Against John Hynes

There is perhaps no man who is less popular among the Nashville Predators fanbase than head coach John Hynes. He has been under nothing but scrutiny since joining the team in January 2020, and a lot of it is warranted, especially with how the majority of the 2022-23 season has gone.

The Predators parted with many of their prominent players at the trade deadline and had a slew of injuries that ravaged the team before and after. You have to see it right here to believe it, and keep in mind that the list below does not account for the four players who were dealt right before March 3.

Despite losing actually over half of their roster from February 11 until now, the Predators kept themselves and their playoff hoped afloat until this past Tuesday night. Not only that, but much of the youth, especially Cody Glass and Tommy Novak, were thriving during this time.

Considering Hynes has one more year left on his contract, it certainly complicates the status of his short-term future in Nashville. Let’s get into this ever-so polarizing debate and look at both sides of the argument.

The case against keeping John Hynes for Another Year 

If we were to have asked about keeping Hynes behind the bench back in December, the answer would have been a resounding no, and I would have agreed. The team had been playing uninspired hockey for the better part of two months, which was completely unacceptable for the expectations they had going into October.

And when you look back at how Hynes was mismanaging the development of the young guys, most notably Eeli Tolvanen, there was little confidence that he could maximize the talent he had in front of him. Fast forward to now, and the situation has significantly changed.

One of the biggest criticisms of Hynes has been the system. Under him, the Predators’ offense has been less about skill and effective puck movement, and more around diligent forechecking and grinding down the opponent.

That certainly has its perks and being a strong forechecking team is by no means a bad thing, but when that becomes your sole identity, it is a problem. And that is what has happened on many occasions with the Predators under Hynes.

Far too often have they relied on winning ugly due to an offense that cannot get going, and their physical nature has resulted in them struggling mightily against teams that have great speed.

They have also gotten into lots of penalty trouble due to playing the body so many times, which just wears down the whole team. It has resulted in Juuse Saros having to bail them out time and time again, and we saw this year how unsustainable it is.

Such nature of play has also resulted in questionable lineup decisions, and especially at the beginning of the season.

Guys like Cole Smith, Michael McCarron, and Zach Sanford were playing over the skilled youth largely due to them being more physical, which not only stunts player development, but makes the team on the ice objectively worse and easier to figure out.

Speaking of player development, and mainly forwards, that has been a struggle for Hynes and the Predators for years. He has either flat out refused to play the youngsters, given them minimal ice time, or made them play his preferred style instead of the one that suits them individually.

Have we not seen how much better Tolvanen has played in Seattle now that he has gotten more ice time and been put in a situation that actually benefits him? That alone is a huge indictment on Hynes.

It is pretty clear how his coaching methods have held the team back, and he would be wise to evolve at least a little bit in order for him to fulfill his Stanley Cup aspirations. If he does not, there will always be questions about whether or not he can get a team over the top.

The case for keeping John Hynes for Another Year

For all of Hynes’ imperfections there is one thing that even his most staunch naysayers cannot — or at least should not — deny. He is a great leader, and that is something that really matters, especially on a team as young as the Nashville Predators will be in the coming years.

Criticism of his lineup decisions is 100 percent warranted, but you are rarely left wondering why he made such choices. Look at this explanation as to why he benched Glass during a game earlier in the year.

Oftentimes other coaches will just respond with something along the lines of “he just has to play better” or “we are going to keep those things in house.” It is rare to see a detailed, thought-out explanation like the one Hynes gave here, and he has offered similar explanations for just about all of the controversial decisions he has made.

I really appreciate that as just as a fan and writer of the team, and as a player that has to make you feel good since you know exactly what you have to earn that ice time.

Let’s also think back to early March 2022, when the Predators were in a bit of a slump, but started to pick themselves back up. Matt Duchene credited Hynes for much of that, as he willingly told the media how Hynes pressed the team about getting away from what had made them good, and the whole team listened and responded.

The fact that the team not only listened to him, but that there was a veteran player publicly talking about it speaks volumes, because you truly have to earn that respect as a head coach.

For as much as the team has struggled to meet high expectations under Hynes, he can certainly motivate them to play through adversity when things are reach a low point.

The Predators rallied to make the playoffs in 2020-21 when they looked to be out of it in mid-March, and proved that ability yet again in 2021-22.

Duchene, Filip Forsberg, and Roman Josi all had career years when the Predators were expected to take a step or few back, and even though the season did not end so well, the start to the year proved that he could actually coach.

Do we even need to talk anymore about what the team dealt with towards the end of this year, between the trade deadline fire-sale and the injuries? A truly bad coach would not have gotten them near the playoffs, and yes Saros was a huge part of it, but the youth doing well and just the team being intact as they were shows that Hynes can bring them together.

All of this is to say that at the very least, Hynes is not this absolute dumpster fire of a head coach that a lot of people make him out to be. He has not proven to be a great one by any means, but if he was that much of a disaster, the season would have ended with loss after loss after loss, and that did not happen.