Wild fill assistant coaching vacancy, adding Jack Capuano to John Hynes’ staff

The Wild are retooling their penalty kill with a new player and coach.

Aside from signing defensive forward Yakov Trenin to a four-year, $14 million contract on Monday in NHL free agency, the Wild hired Jack Capuano as an associate coach on John Hynes’ staff after firing Darby Hendrickson earlier this offseason.

“Jack is very, very passionate about the PK,” President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin said. “He’s always had a good track record with it. So, we’re looking to definitely improve in that aspect.”

Capuano, 57, joins the Wild from Ottawa, where he was an associate coach for the past five seasons after a two-season stint with Florida.

Before that, Capuano was with the New York Islanders for 12 seasons as a head coach, assistant and minor-league coach.

A native of Cranston, R.I., Capuano started his coaching career in the ECHL and has coached Team USA in international competition; he was on Hynes’ staff at the world championships earlier this year, and the two also worked together during the 2016 World Cup.

Toronto drafted Capuano in the fifth round in 1984, and the All-America defenseman out of the University of Maine went on to play six career NHL games. Capuano also played professionally in the American Hockey League and International Hockey League.

“Jack’s an impressive guy with his knowledge of the game, his passion for it, his dedication, and he’s got good chemistry with Hynesie,” Guerin said. “He just seemed like a really good fit.”

Not only will Capuano team up with assistant Patrick Dwyer to coordinate the penalty kill, but Capuano will also oversee the defense; assistant Jason King runs the power play, which fared much better than the penalty kill last season.

After a putrid start in which the unit ranked lower than the worst PK in NHL history, the Wild rebounded to 74.5% to finish third-to-last.

“He’s got a wealth of experience, and [he’s] a real passionate guy, digs into the details of the game,” Hynes said. “[He’s] tactically sharp and brings a lot of energy and is known for great relationships and relating to the player. So, I think it just adds a different element to our staff, but I think we’re going to be a great working group starting this summer and moving forward in the camp.”

The Wild have promoted Cody McLeod to assistant director of player development after the former NHLer was a player development coach for two seasons.

They also named Brian Grogesky assistant athletic trainer, Abe Edson assistant strength and conditioning coach and Dominic Hennig manager of team services.

The Wild’s home opener will be Oct. 10 vs. Columbus. Their complete schedule will be released on Tuesday.