NEW YORK — The New York Rangers have been granted permission by the Nashville Predators to speak to John Hynes about their head coaching vacancy.
But should they?
Hynes was let go by the Predators in favor of Andrew Brunette earlier this week, and was instantly tied to the New York job because of his close relationship with Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury.
In fact, they were teammates at Boston University from 1994 to 1997.
It's been about a month since Gerard Gallant was let go by the Rangers, and even after several interviews with other candidates, Hynes is a possibility.
Locked on Rangers host Jon Chik believes Hynes should be near the bottom of the list as far as potential new head coaches because his style is a complete mismatch for this club.
"Hynes has just not gotten the job done and his teams have largely underachieved," Chik argues.
Hynes has coached 601 regular season games between the Predators and New Jersey Devils, with a record of 284-254-63. His teams have been to the playoffs in four of nine seasons behind the bench, with a cumulative record of 4-15.
Hynes' teams have largely played a defensive style, grinding it out instead of focusing on speed and skill. Part of the reason he was let go in Nasvhille is because the Predators want to incorporate those dynamics into the lineup.
The Rangers have potential high-end young talent in Alex Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko that could use a fresh approach, and Hynes seems to bring much of what Gerard Gallant and David Quinn before him unsuccessfully brought to the table.
Keep in mind that in two seasons under Gallant, the Rangers posted a .661 win percentage and went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
At best, Hynes seems like a lateral move, and certainly not one that moves the Rangers forward.