Devils hire Hynes as coach
The New Jersey Devils named John Hynes as their new coach on Tuesday.
Hynes, 40, becomes the youngest coach in the NHL. Minnesota’s Mike Yeo, who turns 42 in July, previously held that distinction.
Devils general manager Ray Shero announced the move and said Hynes was the only candidate to be offered the job. Shero expects the Devils to be an fast, attacking-type team that plays solid defense under Hynes.
“The things that we talked about and the identity we want to try to establish, the decision to hire John Hynes for the new head coach, he’s going to encompass these things moving forward,” Shero said.
The Penguins announced that they received New Jersey’s third-round draft pick in 2016 as compensation for Hynes’ hiring.
Hynes has been coach of the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins since 2010, when he was hired by former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero, who is the Devils’ new GM.
Hynes was 231-126-27 with the AHL Penguins, leading them to the playoffs in each of his five seasons.
Nationals’ Harper tops NL All-Star voting
Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper continues to be the top vote-getter in National League All-Star balloting.
Harper, who is tied for the major league lead in home runs with 18, has received 2,323,186 votes. He is followed in the outfield by the St. Louis Cardinals’ Matt Holliday (1,654,428) and the Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton (1,210,108).
The San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey (1,679,730) moved past the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina (1,542,231) as the leader at catcher.
Other position leaders are Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta (1,279,711) over the Giants’ Brandon Crawford (1,103,884), Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (1,974,503) over Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant (1,079,693), Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon (1,531,048) over the Cardinals’ Kolten Wong (1,185,982), and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (1,380,696) over the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt (1,067,482).
The All-Star Game will be played July 14 in Cincinnati.
Rams hire ex-QB Garcia as assistant
Former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia joined the St. Louis Rams’ coaching staff as an offensive assistant, the team announced Tuesday.
Garcia will work primarily as an assistant to wide receivers coach Ray Sherman.
Before taking the Rams’ job, Garcia spent the 2014 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on their coaching staff. He worked with quarterbacks during his one season with the club.
Garcia previously tutored quarterbacks in San Diego. Some of his pupils included NFL players Mark Sanchez, Tyrod Taylor and Matt McGloin.
In 17 years as a professional quarterback, Garcia played for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He began his career with the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL and finished with almost 42,000 yards passing.
Van Slyke joins fellow Dodgers outfielders on injured list
The injury bug continues to bite the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scott Van Slyke is the latest to be placed on the disabled list.
The 28-year-old Van Slyke, who has a back injury, was replaced on the roster by veteran Chris Heisey. The Dodgers already are without injured outfielders Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig.
In 34 games this season, Van Slyke is batting .264 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. Last year, he played in 98 games for the Dodgers and batted .297 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs.
Heisey returns to the Dodgers after he was sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City three days earlier and will provide a fourth outfielder, joining Alex Guerrero, Joc Pederson and Andre Ethier.