Wild fire head coach Evason, replace him with Hynes

The Minnesota Wild dismissed head coach Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods after beginning the campaign with a 5-10-4 record, the club announced Monday.

Former Nashville Predators bench boss John Hynes will take over behind the Wild bench.

The Wild have lost seven straight games, one of which came in overtime and another of which occurred in a shootout. They sit second last in the Central Division, just two points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks with the same number of games played.

Evason said the Wild had to "change something" after the team's seventh straight defeat Sunday. Veteran forward Pat Maroon also vented his frustration, calling it "f-----g unacceptable" and adding that "(our) guys should be pissed off."

Minnesota entered Monday with the fourth-worst points percentage (.368) in the NHL. The club ranked second worst in goals against per game (3.95) and 22nd in goals for (2.95) per contest.

Evason had guided the Wild since 2019-20. They went 147-77-27 during the 59-year-old's tenure. They reached the postseason in all four of the previous seasons but failed to make it past the opening round each time.

Minnesota hired Evason as an assistant coach in 2018 and named him interim head coach upon firing Bruce Boudreau in February 2020. The team removed Evason's interim tag five months later.

The Predators fired Hynes in May after the club missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. He spent parts of four seasons behind the Preds' bench after guiding the New Jersey Devils for parts of five campaigns.

Hynes' teams have finished no higher than fourth in their division during his eight seasons as an NHL head coach. That includes three eighth-place finishes (though one was after the Devils fired him in 2019-20), one seventh-place effort, and three fifth-place performances by the Predators.

The Devils made the playoffs once under Hynes, losing in the first round in 2017-18. Nashville failed to advance past the opening round in each of its three postseason berths under the 48-year-old.