Minnesota Wild Nearing Extension With John Hynes

Hynes was able to turn around the Wild’s form that season, going 34-23-6 the rest of the way, though that was not enough to reach the playoffs.

For the following two seasons, Hynes has been able to steer the Wild to the playoffs despite some real challenges thrown his way. In 2024-25, face-of-the-franchise winger Kirill Kaprizov was limited to just 41 games due to lower-body injuries.

Despite losing their top offensive generator, the player Minnesota’s entire lineup is built around, for half the season, Hynes’ Wild were able to win 45 games and reach the playoffs. They would lose in six games in the opening round of the playoffs to the Vegas Golden Knights.

This past season, Hynes was able to sustain the Wild’s momentum as they morphed from consistent playoff participant to a franchise with legitimate short-term Stanley Cup aspirations.

He was able to integrate star defenseman Quinn Hughes into the Wild’s lineup after a stunning mid-season trade, and helped oversee rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt‘s development into one of the top young goalies in the NHL. (Though much of the credit for that must also go to other members of Hynes’ staff, namely goalie coach Frederic Chabot.)

With Hughes in tow, the Wild communicated to the rest of the league their clear intent on winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. That didn’t happen, but Hynes was nonetheless able to win his first playoff series as an NHL head coach by defeating the Dallas Stars in a hard-fought first round series.

Hynes’ decision to bench Wallstedt, who led Minnesota to victory in the first round, in the aftermath of the team’s 9-6 loss in the first game of round two generated some criticism, as did the team’s poor penalty kill in the playoffs.

Overall, though, it’s hard to be left with anything but a positive impression of Hynes’ body of work behind the bench in Minnesota. It’s clear he’s earned the trust of Wild GM Bill Guerin, who also included Hynes on the coaching staff of Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. Hynes was an assistant coach for the American team Guerin constructed, an outfit that took home the gold medal in dramatic fashion against Team Canada.

Looking ahead to 2026-27, though, it’s clear Guerin’s trust in his head coach is set to be tested. The Wild are once again expected to be one of the league’s best teams, and this season comes with the added pressure of Hughes’ expiring contract.

Hughes can hit free agency next summer, and the Wild will do everything in their power to convince him to sign an extension to extend his stay with the team. After a rocky, up-and-down tenure in Vancouver, it’s likely Hughes will want to land with a team that gives him a strong chance of competing for the Stanley Cup. It’s up to Hynes to once again prove to Hughes that he’ll get that chance with the Wild.

Although Hynes’ work so far as the head coach in Minnesota has undoubtedly merited the extension he’s reportedly set to receive, it’s clear his tenure in the Twin Cities will be defined by how well he’s able to navigate the 2026-27 season, arguably the most important campaign in franchise history.