Minnesota commits to Hynes after playoff breakthrough
The Minnesota Wild have signed head coach John Hynes to a multi-year contract extension, the club announced on Tuesday. Hynes, a 51-year-old native of Warwick, Rhode Island, is entering his fourth season behind the Wild bench. Since taking over on November 28, 2023, he has compiled a 125-78-24 record in 227 games, a .604 points percentage, and the team's 274 points in that span rank eighth in the NHL.[S1][S2]
Last season, Hynes guided Minnesota to a six-game first-round series victory over the Dallas Stars, the franchise's first playoff series win in 11 seasons. The Wild then fell to the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the second round. Minnesota finished the regular season third in the Western Conference with 104 points, tied for the third-highest total in franchise history, and set a single-season club record with a 25.2 percent power-play conversion rate.[S1][S2]
A coaching career built across three NHL clubs
Hynes owns a career regular-season record of 409-333-87 in 829 games with the Wild, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils. He ranks fourth in NHL history among American-born head coaches in both wins and games coached, and enters the 2026-27 season 40th all-time in wins and 44th in games coached. Before arriving in Minnesota, he spent parts of four seasons with Nashville, posting a 134-96-18 record in 248 games and a .577 points percentage that ranks second in Predators history.[S1][S2]
With New Jersey, Hynes compiled a 150-159-45 record in 354 games over four-plus seasons and led the Devils to the 2017-18 playoffs; he ranks second in franchise history in coaching wins. Earlier, he spent six seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Penguins of the American Hockey League, five as head coach, going 231-126-27 in 384 games with five straight Calder Cup playoff appearances. He won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's most outstanding head coach after the 2010-11 season.[S1]
International medals and a Boston University foundation
Hynes served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national team at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, where Team USA won its first gold medal since 1980. He also assisted at the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, earning silver, and at the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship, where the U.S. won gold for the first time. He was head coach of Team USA at the 2024 and 2016 IIHF World Championships.[S1]
A Boston University graduate, Hynes played forward for the Terriers from 1993 to 1997, reaching four consecutive Frozen Fours and winning the 1995 NCAA championship. He began his coaching career at his alma mater as a graduate assistant under Hall of Fame head coach Jack Parker in 1997-98 and was inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame on August 23, 2023. He and his wife, Sarah, have three daughters: Sophia, Julia and Anna.[S1]
