Firing Hynes would make no sense for Devils for NOW

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After a very busy off-season which saw them add the likes of PK Subban, Jack Hughes with the #1 overall pick, forward Wayne Simmonds and Nikita Gusev, the New Jersey Devils are 0-2-2 thru the first 4 games of the season. They have been outscored 18-5 since having a 4-0 lead against Winnipeg last Friday which they ultimately blew and lost in a shootout. All the pressure seemingly is on 5th year coach John Hynes with fans calling for him to get fired. But would this be the absolute right move?

Lets pause on that front for NOW. Yes, the team is still searching for it's first win and yes Hynes has not coached well so far into this young season. The special teams have been awful on all fronts, Blackwood has been bad and Schneider has been good. Last Friday's collapse against Winnipeg seems to still be lingering with the team. NJ had a 4-0 lead until Winnipeg scored with under 15 seconds left in period 2 and then scored their 2nd goal early in the 3rd and Schneider left the game with cramps. Backup MacKenzie Blackwood seemed surprised to be going in for relief and did not look at all prepared or focused and the rest was history. One of the most head scratching moments from that game was when Hynes put Jesper Bratt on the 4th line with Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha and John Hayden on a line with Jack Hughes and Nikita Gusev when they were up 4-0. It seemed as if the team lost a step from then.

The next night forward Jesper Boqvist made his NHL debut in Buffalo, but the team was demolished 7-2 and then he went back to the bench for the Philly game and the team lost 4-0 and 4-3 in a shootout last night to Edmonton. Taylor Hall believes the team played its most complete game this season last night, but still they are win-less and adding insult is that team captain Andy Greene is hurt and was just placed on IR retroactive to 10/9 against the Flyers so he won't be available until next Thursday against the Rangers at the earliest with an upper body injury.

So, for now lets not fire the coach. I know the team has playoff expectations and there is still a long way to go in the season. Every team will begin to tighten up eventually and I think this team is close to breaking out. Yes, they will face an uphill battle in Boston this coming Saturday, but the game could be a huge lift for team if they can somehow pull out a win. Firing Hynes could mean the end of the Taylor Hall era in NJ. Hall is a huge fan of John Hynes and the two became very close this past Summer. But, taking that out of the equation, let's give him a chance to climb out of this early rut and adversity. Last season, the team started 4-0-0 and then went downhill, so this start id not at all surprising with the new faces and tough lineup decision. Plus, who out there is better at the moment? If Tampa were to fire Jon Cooper which is extremely unlikely, maybe then Shero will scramble for him, but Guy Boucher needs time away from the game, so does Randy Carlyle and so does Bob Hartley (Just throwing some names out there). It would be very tough to get an Assistant from another team or their AHL coach. With that, let's see if Hynes can coach his way out of it and I think he very much can. 

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