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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
The Nashville Predators are making a change behind the bench, hiring Andrew Brunette to replace John Hynes as head coach, sources told ESPN’s Kevin Weekes on Tuesday.
An official announcement is expected Tuesday afternoon.
Hynes spent part of four seasons with the Predators after replacing outgoing coach Peter Laviolette on Jan. 7, 2020. Nashville reached the playoffs in Hynes’ first two full seasons, losing in the first round both times. The Predators failed to qualify for the postseason this season — a first since 2014 — after an injury-plagued 42-32-8 campaign.
Hynes leaves the organization with an overall mark of 134-96-18.
This will be the first head-coaching job for Brunette since he was named interim coach of the Florida Panthers on Oct. 28, 2021. Brunette was an assistant on Joel Quenneville’s staff there and was promoted to replace his boss after Quenneville resigned amid fallout from the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Kyle Beach lawsuit.
Brunette guided the Panthers to the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season club with a franchise-best 51 wins and 108 points. The Panthers’ luck didn’t carry into the playoffs, though, and they were jettisoned in a second-round sweep by Tampa Bay.
Florida general manager Bill Zito ultimately did not remove the interim tag from Brunette, instead hiring Paul Maurice as the Panthers’ next full-time coach. Brunette moved on to an assistant role with the New Jersey Devils for the 2022-23 season.
Brunette is back in familiar territory with Nashville. A veteran skater of a 1,110 NHL games, he spent the 1998-99 season with the Predators and scored the first goal in the expansion team’s history.
The decision to switch coaches also marks the first big move involving incoming Nashville general manager Barry Trotz, who will step in to replace David Poile when the longtime GM officially retires in July.