New Jersey Devils fire coach John Hynes, formerly of Penguins' AHL club

The Devils fired coach John Hynes, the former coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, on Tuesday.

General manager Ray Shero announced the move roughly 20 minutes before Hynes was to speak to the media before the Devils game against the Golden Knights at Prudential Center.

Shero said assistant Alain Nasreddine will be interim coach, and Peter Horachek, a pro scout for the team, will join the coaching staff as an assistant.

The Devils have a 9-13-4 record and are coming off embarrassing losses to the rival New York Rangers on Saturday and a disastrous 7-1 defeat on Monday night in Buffalo. They are in last place in the Metropolitan Division and have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

The Devils had high hopes entering the season after drafting Jack Hughes with the No. 1 overall pick just two years after taking Nico Hischier with the No. 1 pick.

Hynes had a 150-159-45 record in 354 career regular-season games over four-plus seasons and led the team to the 2018 playoffs for the first time in six years. He ranks second in team history in games coached, wins and points (345).