There is more coaching news in the NHL on Tuesday as the Nashville Predators are reportedly set to hire Andrew Brunette as the team’s next head coach. Kevin Weekes was the first to report the news, writing that the Predators are “set to “making a change behind the bench, and one-time Predator Andrew Brunette will be their new HC in Music City.”
This means that John Hynes is out as coach and new general manager Barry Trotz will give the job to Brunette. It’s an interesting dynamic as it becomes the Preds’ first-ever coach hiring the player who scored the team’s first-ever goal.
Brunette was a Jack Adams Award finalist in 2022 as the interim head coach of the Florida Panthers. He coached the team to a 51-18-6 record and the Presidents’ Trophy. They lost in the 2nd round to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Panthers hired Paul Maurice in the offseason. When the Panthers chose to go with Maurice, Brunette moved on, joining the New Jersey Devils for the 2022-23 campaign. It was his first behind the bench in New Jersey, as he oversaw the team’s power play.
Brunette was considered a candidate in a number of cities, including recently interviewing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brunette was also an assistant coach in 2014-2015 for Minnesota and from 2015-2019, was the team’s assistant GM.
Brunette absolutely deserves to be a full-time head coach and there are probably a couple of teams feeling like they might have missed out on a golden opportunity here.
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