Hynes talks Wild, impact of Fleury on 'NHL @TheRink' podcast

Coach also discusses Rossi's development, 4 Nations Face-Off

John Hynes joins “NHL @TheRink” presented by SKIP this week and the Minnesota Wild coach discusses a range of topics with podcast co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke.

Hynes hits on Marc-Andre Fleury‘s impact in Pittsburgh and the NHL in general. He breaks down Marco Rossi‘s development and why the center has become so important to the Wild and is a big reason for their 6-1-2 start to the season.

Hynes also talks about the chemistry between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, telling stories about how Minnesota’s coaching staff has had to kick them off the ice 40 minutes after practice ended.

In addition, Hynes, who is also an assistant for Team USA in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20), discusses how coach Mike Sullivan is handling the conversation about roster makeup, what topics they talk about and the type of players they’re looking for while the scouting for the tournament continues.

Roarke records the podcast from Tampere, Finland, where he is located this week covering the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland presented by Fastenal. The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers will play at Nokia Arena in Tampere on Friday (2 p.m. ET; Victory+, SCRIPPS, NHLN, SN) and Saturday (Noon ET; Victory+, SCRIPPS, NHLN, SN1).

Roarke gives the listeners insight into the buzz in Finland for the Global Series and the star gazing around the Finnish players on the Stars (Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen) and Panthers (Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola).

Rosen and Roarke also talk about Fleury’s return to Pittsburgh as an NHL goalie for the final time, when he made 26 saves in a 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, and why the future Hockey Hall of Famer continues to be beloved by the fans there all these years since he left the Penguins (2017).

They discuss the struggles that the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins are dealing with, and why the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks appear to be on the right paths in their rebuilds.

The “NHL @TheRink” podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.