STATE NEWS | Nashville — The Nashville Predators announced on Tuesday, that John Hynes will be named the next head coach. The third head coach in the franchises history, Hynes brings more than 10 season f AHL and NHL experience to the job.

“John Hynes is a bright young coach and great leader who has a track record of both effectively developing young players and successfully motivating veterans,” Preds General Manager David Poile said. “We love his coaching resume and are confident that he has learned from every stop during his career, and has the best skill set to get the maximum potential out of our team.”

Hynes comes to the Preds with a 150-159-45 record as a head coach. He previously coached at the New Jerswy Devils. For the complete Pred’s press release, click here.

On Monday, the Preds became one of six National Hockey League (NHL) teams to decide to make a coaching change as they announced that head coach Peter Laviolette and associate coach Kevin McCarthy would not be returning. Laviolette coach the Preds for over five seasons and under his reign Nashville’s popular hockey team reached post-season play in five consecutive seasons, including the Stanley Cup final in the 2016-17 season.

His firing was a bit of surprise considering that the Preds are in the middle of the 2019-20 season. The night before the announcement, the Preds lost to the Anaheim Ducks 5-4 in California. Tonight, they play Boston at home at 7 p.m. •

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