The New Jersey Devils announced late Tuesday evening that they have fired Head Coach John Hynes after being the head coach since 2015. The Devils have had a slow start to the season with a record of 9-14-4 in 27 games played. They have 22 points which is only in front of the NHL’s worst team the Detroit Red Wings this season. 

Coming into this season the New Jersey Devils had high hopes of having a good start to the season with all their big offseason moves. They traded for All-Star defenseman PK Subban from the Nashville Predators and winger Nikita Guzev from the Vegas Golden Knights, drafted Jack Hughes with the number one overall pick, and signed winger Wayne Simmonds in free agency. 

Just because they’ve struggled doesn’t mean they can’t get back in the hunt. They are only a little over a quarter of the season. “I have been consistent in my desire to build something here in New Jersey that earns the respect of the teams throughout the league and pride in our fans… That is not where we were heading.” Ray Sherro, the Devils president and general manager, said in a statement. 

The Devils’ main problems under Hynes was lack of goaltending, not enough defense, and not enough consistent offensive scoring. Winger Taylor Hall, who is a former Hart Trophy winner, only has 4 goals to start the season.

Hynes was a coach for the Devils for four seasons and is the third head coach to be fired this season. Hynes made the playoffs in 2018 with the Devils but didn’t in the other three seasons he spent in New Jersey. Hynes had a record of 150-159-45 and ranks second in Devils history in games played, wins, and points.

The new interim head coach will be Alain Nasreddine which was one of Hynes assistant coaches. He has been an assistant since Hynes was hired in 2015.