St. Louis Blues Ken Hitchcock gets Contract Extension

COMMENTARY | After the St. Louis Blues made a rather ungraceful exit from the first round of the playoffs, many fans wanted head coach Ken Hitchcock ousted from his position of power. The upper management of the Blues sees things much more differently than the fans. They have given Hitchcock a contract extension for the 2014-2015 season. In my opinion, this was a strong move on the part of the Blues organization.

The Blues have also made a move to insure that associate coach Brad Shaw and assistant coach Ray Bennett will also be a part of the upcoming season. Assistant coach Gary Agnew as well as goaltending coach Corey Hirsch will not be returning next season. With the vacancies, the Blues can search for additions to the coaching staff that will enhance the staff and work well toward the good of the team.

Courtesy of blues.nhl.com

Hitchcock came into the Blues organization as head coach mid-season on November 7, 2011. Since then the team has made three consecutive playoff appearances. This past season, the club had their best season with 52 wins. He is the all-time leader in point percentage. He won the NHL’s Jack Adams Award, honoring him as the league’s best coach.

Throughout his illustrious career, Hitchcock has won a Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Dallas Stars and Olympic Gold Medals for Team Canada at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 games. He is the seventh all-time winning coach and is second in all-time wins among active coaches. As for the Blue’s organization, Hitchcock is ranked third for most wins.

Enough about Hitch’s stats though, everyone knows that he is a good coach who can condition players to win hockey games. The big question though is why did the fans turn on him like rabid dogs? I think it was a variety of factors including the fact that the Blues once again were shut down after being called the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Fans truly believed that a miracle would occur and that the Blues would go all the way. They believed this even though the Blues had traded for a goaltender that was extremely fragile emotionally and would not be able to shut down the opposing team. The team after the Olympic break slowed down and several injuries to key players right at the close of the season was a sneak preview of things to come in the first round of the playoffs.

It is true that how well the team plays is a reflection of the coaching staff, however, take a look at how well the team played and the cohesiveness of the organization prior to the Miller/Ott – Halak/Stewart trade. This season, even with the implosion at the end, was a franchise best with 52 wins. That should account for something in Hitch’s favor. But fans are fickle creatures and they tend to only focus on the immediate ups or downs or the final result of the season. In other words, since the Blues self-destructed against their nemesis, the Chicago Blackhawks, that is what the fans have focused on. They do not focus on the fact that the team made history with their winning record or that the cohesion of the first part of the season was magic.

Hitch had to make the most of the Halak/Stewart trade. The locker room felt the emptiness of their departure. Ryan Miller and Steve Ott were unable to fill the void that was left. That hole was felt all through the remainder of the season. Jaroslav Halak was the type of person that his teammates looked to for a calming and levelheaded presence. Chris Stewart was the player who lit a fire under his teammates and rallied around those who were struggling. The players had worked hard on cultivating closeness and a trust that could not be built overnight. With the addition of two players and the departure of two close friends, the Blues as a team had to focus on rebuilding. With only a short time left before the post-season started, this was a virtually impossible task for Hitch and his coaching staff.

Many people have asked me if I think Hitchcock deserved a contract extension. My answer to them is emphatically yes. Hitch is a rock in the locker room and he has the ability to shape a team into a unified group and win hockey games. The post-season is a nasty monster that takes great teams and destroys them but lifts up mediocre teams to greatness. We have all seen this happen and know that while a team may be a heavy favorite to win it all, the pressure and the desperation of other teams can easily shake that team off its foundation.

The Blues have an excellent leader at the helm and this off-season we will see who else will join him for next season’s journey. Blues fans need to look ahead to next season and the expectations of a Stanley Cup instead behind at past disappointments. The Blues organization has obviously moved ahead and is confident in their head coach. I wish Hitch the very best and hope that the Blues are able to have another winning season.