The Minnesota Wild announced that they agreed to a multi-year contract extension with John Hynes on Tuesday and it may have generated some mixed feelings. While Hynes led the Wild out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015 this spring, his decisions in the following series against the Colorado Avalanche and his previous playoff record could have some fans believe he should have played out the final year of his contract.
But while Hynes’s shortcomings could question the Wild’s decision, it may have been overridden by what he’s done for the Wild’s culture. While Minnesota has the best team it’s had in several seasons, the fact they are a close-knit group that enjoys playing for their coach may have been a deciding factor in getting a deal done and it could be something that helps him overcome his past struggles in the playoffs.
The Wild’s locker room culture has been a big key to their success
Fans usually get a laugh out loud when a team cites “The Power of Friendship” to validate their expectations. But it’s something that has propelled the Wild in recent years. A strong locker room culture was something the Wild didn’t have prior to Bill Guerin’s arrival in 2019 and former forward Kurtis Gabriel spoke of a locker room that was split between older players like Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and Mikko Koivu and the younger players on the team including Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker and Charlie Coyle.
“You come up for your first NHL game, get a couple handshakes and you don’t even realize it after the game, when you see your mom go ‘Why didn’t you get a rookie lap?’ I think that just shows everything,” Gabriel said recalling his NHL debut in 2015. “...It was like a corporate environment. Like, you come to work, you clock in, you do your job and leave. Like I’m in the National f*****g Hockey League. I just made my dream a reality. …[And I’m] like, ‘Can we have some fun?’” …You can see where that team just fell flat and didn’t go anywhere.”
Gabriel also cited the talent that was on that team including Jason Pominville, Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella and Mikael Granlund, but that culture saw the Wild fail to get out of the first round for three straight seasons from 2015 to 2018 before Guerin was hired. After a full year to observe the culture, Guerin made the decision to buy out Parise and Suter after the 2020-21 season and while the decision racked up massive salary cap penalties, Guerin believed it was worth it to rebuild the locker room.
Captain Jared Spurgeon, Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello were just some of the players that established the new culture and the team became a closer group even before last year’s playoff success. Wild players have been spotted hanging out outside of the rink as a result and several players showed up before the start of training camp this week, leading the SKOL chant to begin the second half of the Minnesota Vikings’ win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that the Wild are popping up as a preferred destination for players across the NHL. Having a strong core featuring Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber helps that case, but so does the culture in the locker room, which Hynes has a massive role.
John Hynes’s value to the Wild goes beyond the ice
Hynes’s detractors will point to his playoff record and say there’s even more pressure to perform after the extension. But his strengths are also a key. Guerin spoke about Hynes’s ability to communicate with players as well, which is another way that Hynes contributes to the culture.
“I really think that’s one of the things that separates John from other coaches is the time that he puts into the messaging,” Guerin said via The Athletic’s Joe Smith and Michael Russo. “It’s not just, ‘This is what I say. I’m cramming it down your throat. Do it.’ He gives them the reason why – why we’re going to do this, why we’re going to have success doing it.”
Foligno, who mentioned he’s known of Hynes since he was 17, also gave Hynes a rave review after the news broke on Tuesday.
“Honestly, I really enjoyed him. I thought he was prepared. I think he had us ready to go every game,” Foligno said. “I mean, it’s a small sample size, but I thought when it came down to it, I think every guy felt extremely prepared for what was to come. They did their work. They gave us a great game plan, so I appreciate all the work they did and really enjoyed playing for Hynsie and the coaching staff and getting to know them.”
Hynes will have to prove he can take a team deep into the postseason and while he signed an extension, other NHL coaches have learned that it can be taken away just as quickly as a few pen strokes. Still, Hynes’s value to the locker room and culture of the Wild shouldn’t be overstated and it’s likely why he earned the contract that was announced on Tuesday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google