By Andrew Allsman| Posted: May 26, 2015| Contact |
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| Photo by Scott Neer, TSNPhotography |
Change is likely to occur with the Blues this offseason, but
it won’t happen at the coaching level. The Blues announced Tuesday morning that
Ken Hitchcock will be back for the 2015-16 season after signing a one-year
extension.
“It’s been a long process for Ken and I to go through over
the last few weeks,” said Armstrong. “Probably the majority of it was spent on
detoxing form a disappointing ending to our season and putting that into
perspective with the work that has been done in the last four years under Ken’s
guidance.
Assistant coaches Brad Shaw, Ray Bennett and Kirk Muller,
along with goaltending coach Jim Corsi will also be returning for next season.
“We are excited to be back together,” said Armstrong.
Hitchcock, 63, has been behind the Blues’ bench for the last
four years, leading them to the NHL’s best regular season record during that
period (175-79-27). The Blues have won the Central Division twice under
Hitchcock, who won the Jack Adams Award for best NHL coach during the 2011-12
season. Hitchcock's last contract, which was a one-year deal that included a
picked-up mutual option for a second season, was set to expire this summer.
Armstrong and Hitchcock have been in constant communication
since the end of the regular season and determined that they both had interest
in Hitchcock getting another crack behind the bench.
“We sat down and talked and we talked about the season,
about the playoffs and about the personnel,” Armstrong said. “I had to make
sure the passion level that was going to be necessary, that Ken still had that
passion. I didn’t want him to come back out of anger or disappointment; I
wanted him to come back out of energy and when we talked, I felt that.”
It’s been wondered if the one-year deal will result in a
lame duck situation amongst players, but neither Armstrong nor Hitchcock
believe that to be a worry.
“This is Ken’s third one-year deal,” said Armstrong. “This
is something that we are comfortable with. The thought process that someone
works with less passion and energy, a coworker, because someone is on a
one-year deal, I’ve never really understood. I would be shocked if a player
wants to flush a year of his career away because the coach is on a one-year
deal.”
Hitchcock wanted another one-year deal because he doesn’t want
to feel like he is “cheating” the club.
“I’m really appreciative of coming to St. Louis because this
has been great for me,” said Hitchcock. “I know it has been disappointing but
from a friendship standpoint and from a coaching standpoint, this has been a
great place for me. I just don’t want to be signing on for a ton of years that
I know I can’t answer the bell for.”
While the Blues have enjoyed plenty of regular season
success under Hitchcock, they have struggled in the postseason under the
veteran coach, advancing to the second round just one time in the last four
playoff appearances. The club’s postseason record under Hitchcock stands at
10-17.
With three consecutive first-round exits, Hitchcock’s future
was murky, at best, following the conclusion of the season. The coach stepped
away for about two weeks and evaluated what options he had and which one he
wanted to pursue. Ultimately, a contract was agreed upon this week.
“This was a long process for me,” said Hitchcock. “It was
very disappointing in losing, especially the lead up to it. Having the ability
to look back on it over the past few weeks, it has given me some time to detox.
Today is the first day we have started preparing for next season so I’m really
excited, proud to be able to coach this hockey club again.”
Armstrong added to the intrigue when he decided to attempt woo
former Detroit coach Mike Babcock into coming to St. Louis a week ago, but the
general manager made his intentions known to Hitchcock as he proceeded. The
head coach says there are no hard feelings.
“You can’t help but hear that,” Hitchcock said. “For me, I don’t
care. The reason I don’t care is because we have a relationship where we can
tell each other pretty much anything and there’s no consequence. He keeps me
informed on everything. Some of it I don’t want to hear sometimes. The other
stuff is irrelevant to me. It’s the relationship you have with the people you
work with and for.”
Though the team has had disappointing results in the
postseason, Hitchcock remains a trusted voice, sitting at fourth on the
all-time coaching list in wins (708) and trailing only Chicago coach Joel
Quenneville in wins among active coaches. After signing a new contract,
Hitchcock’s tenure with the Blues will be his longest since his Dallas days
(1995-2002).
“This is unfinished business for me,” Hitchcock said. “I don’t
want to coach to coach; I want to coach to win. I couldn’t find a better spot than
this hockey club. This is a really great team trying to become a great team. I
think I have the tools and the expertise to help them along the way.”