John Hynes was at home in Nashville when he got the news he would become the Minnesota Wild's new head coach after the firing of Dean Evason on Monday.
One day later, Hynes was in downtown St. Paul alongside Wild General Manager Bill Guerin just hours ahead of the Wild's home game against the St. Louis Blues Tuesday night.
"We turn the page, we begin a new chapter and I'm very excited to have John Hynes join the Minnesota Wild as our head coach," Guerin said and a press conference Tuesday.
Hynes, whose spent eight season in the NHL as a head coach, comes to the Wild after spending parts of four seasons with the Nashville Predators. He takes over as the Wild have lost seven straight games and has been in a bit of a tailspin.
"You know, I think it's on the gameday the most important thing for these guys is their mindset," explained Hynes. "You're not going to come in the pregame skate and change a bunch of things. I think that's for a practice day. But to me, the most important thing is meeting them, getting their minds right, have an opportunity to talk with them, let them stay in their routines and make sure we're ready with the right mindset to play tonight."
Hynes believes the roster is filled with players who can turn the season around however.
"When you look at the roster, you look at the quality of players, not only their talent on the ice but I think the character of the players, there's some great young players that have huge upsides that are coming," said Hynes. "I think there's a great group of veterans. The team leadership is excellent."
Guerin discussed Evason's firing, adding that there was an element to this team that seemed to be lost at the start of the season.
"I didn't feel like it was going to come back," explained Guerin. "What I was seeing, I think it had just gotten to that point where almost no matter what they did, the guys were having a hard time executing, and generating offense. And something had to change."
Hynes says the team appears hurt in certain ways, including individual player confidence along with belief and execution on the ice.
"I think you have to come in, and first and foremost it's important to get to know the players," he said Tuesday morning. "It's on the fly, but I believe when you come into this situation everybody's hurting. It's a tough situation for the coaching staff, the training staff, particularly for the players. So I think it's important to really come in, and connect with those guys, connect with the coaches, get feedback particularly from the players on some of the things they're seeing and feeling. That's really important. That's the start of it. It's first who then what."