Andrew Brunette expected to be Nashville Predators coach: Everything t…
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Andrew Brunette is expected to become the Nashville Predators head coach after the Preds parted ways with John Hynes on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Tennessean.
Hynes, who had one year left on his contract, was 134-95-18 in three-plus seasons in Nashville and will reportedly be replaced with Brunette, the associate coach for the New Jersey Devils.
Brunette, a Sudbury, Ontario native, will be tasked with getting the Predators back to the Stanley Cup playoffs after Nashville missed the postseason for the first time since the 2013-14 after finishing 42-32-8.
Here are five things to know about Brunette:
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The original Nashville Predator goal scorer
Brunette’s first taste of the NHL came during the 1995-96 season when he was called up to play in 11 games for the Washington Capitals after playing that season for two American Hockey League teams, the Providence Bruins and Portland Pirates. He eventually played in 51 games for the Capitals before the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft that included Nashville.
He was selected by the Predators in the expansion draft and played in 71 games that first season. He scored the organization’s first goal, in the first period, in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Panthers Oct. 13, 1998. That season, Brunette scored 11 goals with 20 assists and 31 points.
Andrew Brunette’s coaching stops
Brunette’s only head coaching experience was with the Florida Panthers during the 2021-22 season. He took over as interim seven games into the season after Florida coach Joel Quenneville resigned in wake of the Chicago Blackhawks sexual abuse scandal.
The Panthers were 51-18 under Brunette and finished in first place in the Atlantic Division with 122 points and capturing…
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