Tampa Bay Lightning fill coaching void
With Jeff Blashill tasked with taking over the rebuild in Chicago, the Tampa Bay Lightning had an open spot on their coaching staff. On Friday, the same day former coach Derek Lalonde joined the Toronto Maple Leafs staff, the Bolts announced that Dan Hinote would be joining Jon Cooper’s staff in Tampa. The 48-year-old is back in the NHL after a year in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles.
After a nine-year playing career with Colorado and St. Louis, the Leesburg, FL-born Hinote entered the coaching ranks with Columbus in 2011. He was behind the bench for four seasons before transitioning to the scouting department for the Blue Jackets. In 2018 he joined the United States National Team Development Program and spent the next couple of seasons working with the Under-18 and Under-17 teams. During the 2019-20 season he coached Lightning prospects Roman Schmidt and Dylan Duke as part of the USNTDP.
In 2020-21, he was back in the pro ranks as he joined Jon Hynes’ staff in Nashville. He would coach there for the next four seasons.
It is expected that he will take charge of the penalty kill and work with current assistant coach, Jeff Zettler, in regards to the defense. In listening to some of his more recent interviews, Hinote is hyper-aware of what it takes to connect with players, especially the younger generation. The days of players doing things just because the coach said to do it have long since gone by, and Hinote seems in-tune with explaining the why. He also brings a fresh set of eyes to a staff that could probably use it.
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