New Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Dan Hinote was never known for offense across his 503 games as an NHL forward.
He was a defensive expert, often tasked with shutting down opposing top players and disappointing other teams by erasing their power-play chances as a member of the penalty kill.
That provided him insight into the offensive side of the game, and he’s carried that knowledge throughout his coaching career.
Hinote was announced on Friday as the newest addition to head coach Jon Cooper’s coaching staff in Tampa Bay, where he will join fellow assistants Jeff Halpern and Rob Zettler.
“Coaching and playing the penalty kill has given me what I like to call insight into the other side of the coin too. As much as my job when I was playing was to make sure the other team didn't score, then you have a really good understanding of what it takes to score, right? Because you studied how to stop it, it's basically also studying how to (score),” Hinote said Friday. “And that’s kind of how I look at the whole 5-on-5 game.”
‘Top of the pyramid’
Hinote comes to the Lightning after serving as the associate coach for the Colorado Eagles, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, in 2024-25.
Hinote worked as an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators the four seasons prior and also saw time with the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach and scout. He spent two seasons as associate coach of the United States National Team Development Program from 2018 to 2020.
Now his attention turns to Tampa Bay, a place Hinote referred to as one of the greatest opportunities in the NHL. He repeatedly compared the organization to his former franchise in Colorado when it was led by general manager Pierre Lacroix and won two Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001—Hinote scored a career-high 15 points in 2001 as a player to help them to the NHL’s crown jewel.
Hinote received about 45 text messages on Thursday night from people within the Lightning organization, including coaches, trainers and players who wanted to welcome him.
“I can't wait to shake everybody's hands and look them in the eye and see what I expect to see, which is a program that is built on family values and a strong reputation of winning,” he said. “It’s exciting, and to me, it's the job that is the top of the pyramid, really. It's the number one job. If it becomes available, that's the job you want because of all of those factors, not to mention how good the team is.”
Learning from Cooper is an added benefit, too.
“Coop, in my opinion, best coach in the NHL, certainly someone I stand to learn a lot from,” he said. “No different than Zetts and Halpy. These guys are phenomenal coaches, and obviously the success that has gone through the program, it’s not a coincidence.”
Hinote will meet with the coaching staff this weekend to get a better idea of his role with the team this season and fills the vacancy left by Jeff Blashill, who accepted the head coaching position with the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason.
While his role isn’t predetermined, Hinote hopes to bring a high energy every day.
“The responsibility I always take on when I am coaching is providing energy—positive, forward-growth energy. And so regardless of what my responsibilities are on the ice, off the ice I take just as seriously. It’s mindset, it's positivity, it's preparation. It’s kind of trying to build the foundation for these guys so that they can rely on that foundation of life so they can just play hockey.”
Growth and a return to Floridian roots
Hinote took on a new challenge in 2024-25 with the Eagles, coaching the power play after spending the previous 12 seasons coaching the penalty kill, and he found himself relying on his penalty kill knowledge in that scenario, too.
The Eagles tied for the AHL’s sixth-best power play during the 2024-25 regular season, scoring on 20.1% of its chances.
“When I started to control the power play, I would teach the guys on the weaknesses of the penalty kill. Well, that translates 5-on-5 too, right? Offensively, here's what I know works against the defense that I've been coaching. To me, every coach in the NHL can coach offense, can coach defense. I think my strengths are understanding what my strengths were when I played, and then how to combat those, along with my energy and my communication ability.”
He has two children who are 13 and 15 years old, and he said he’s had to learn the differences in communicating across different generations. That helped him as a coach to connect with younger players.
“That’s a big part of it, too, is when you connect with the players, which is one of my strengths, you start to learn the vernacular, which makes you a better communicator, which makes the game easier for them.”
This opportunity with the Lightning serves as a homecoming of sorts, too, as Hinote was born in Leesberg, Florida before moving to Minnesota in his youth.
Hinote still has family and friends here in Florida, and his mother lives here during the winter. On Friday Hinote called Florida his “second home”.
That homecoming was well received.
“For me it’s awesome because I love Florida. It’s always been a part of my soul,” he said. “And to watch hockey grow from there and then now finally to be able to come back there and coach, it's a full circle deal, and I couldn't be more excited.”
