The New Jersey Devils have found their new head coach.
John Hynes has an agreement in place with the Devils according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos and Elliotte Friedman.
Hynes is currently the coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League affiliate. He has a 231-126-27 record with the AHL Penguins over the last five years and is the winningest coach in team history.
Prior to joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hynes spent six seasons as a head coach with USA Hockey’s National Development Team Program, posting a 216-113-19-9 record. He is a former Boston University player who won a national title in 1995.
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New Jersey went 32-36-14 for 78 points this past season, missing the playoffs by 20 points. It was the sixth-worst record in the NHL and the team’s worst in a full season since getting 66 points in 1988-89.
Pete DeBoer, who led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, was fired as head coach in December. The Devils finished the season with team president and then-general manager Lou Lamoriello running them with assistant coaches Adam Oates and Scott Stevens.
The 72-year-old Lamoriello stepped aside as general manager early last month and Shero was hired. Lamoriello maintained his role as president.
The move will reunite the 40-year-old with new Devils general manager Ray Shero, who formerly held the same title with Pittsburgh. Shero hired Hynes to coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
He was the AHL’s coach of the year in 2010-11.
Dan Bylsma, who recently was hired to be the Buffalo Sabres coach, is a former Wilkes Barre/Scranton coach who led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup title.
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With files from The Associated Press.