The man who scored the first goal in Nashville Predators history will be named the franchise’s fourth head coach Wednesday afternoon.
Andrew Brunette will take over for John Hynes, who was fired Tuesday by incoming general manager Barry Trotz.
“I am super excited to be back in Nashville and a part of the Predators organization,” Brunette said in a statement released by the team. “I feel like this is coming full circle for my career – from pulling on the jersey for the first time 25 years ago to returning now to take care of some unfinished business. It has been awesome to see how this city and its fanbase have grown since I played here and I look forward to continuing the legacy and the culture behind the bench that Barry cultivated that inaugural season.”
The 49-year-old Brunette has almost one full season of NHL coaching experience. He took over for Joel Quenneville seven games into the 2021-22 season and guided the Florida Panthers to a 51-18-6 record and the Presidents’ Trophy, but was not retained after that season.
Last season he was an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils.
Brunette also spent two seasons in several roles with the Minnesota Wild, including as an assistant coach and assistant general manager, and was an assistant with the Panthers.
“When I look at our roster and those in our system, we have a lot of fast, skilled players and we will likely selectmore of those types of players in this year’s draft,” Trotz said. “We want to become more of an offensive teamand Andrew specializes on that side of the ice – he lived it as a player, and he coaches it as a coach.
“He is as good of an offensive teacher and power-play coach as there is in the game today. He will be great with ouryoung players, and I know, because of his background as a player, he will connect well with our top, skilledplayers. At the end of the day, he is a good person who looks forward to working in partnership with our playersto make them, and our team, better. I can’t wait to get in the foxhole with him.”
Brunette spent one season of his 16 NHL seasons with the Predators, for whom he had 11 goals and 20 assists in 77 games in 1998-99. He etched his name into Predators lore on Oct. 13, 1998, when he scored against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period of a 3-2 victory.
Brunette was arrested and charged with driving under the influence on Feb. 1 after he was pulled over by police, who also charged him with two counts of disobeying a stop or yield sign while he was driving a golf cart.
OPINION: The way Barry Trotz did John Hynes was cold, signaling a new Nashville Predators | Estes
EXCLUSIVE FOR SUBSCRIBERS: How Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz came to decision to fire John Hynes
IN THE MIX: Barry Trotz: Karl Taylor was finalist for Nashville Predators job to replace John Hynes
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators hire Andrew Brunette as coach, replacing John Hynes
