NHL News: Blues, Hitchcock Agree On One-Year Deal
The St. Louis Blues and head coach Ken Hitchcock have agreed on a one-year deal despite the team's quick departure from the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. ''This is unfinished business for me,'' Hitchcock said about his extra year with the Blues, via Yahoo Sports. ''I don't want to coach to coach, I want to coach to win. I couldn't find a better spot.''
The team’s official Twitter account also announced the deal.
Hitchcock is one of the veteran head coaches in the league. He coached the Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2002, Philadelphia Flyers from 2002 to 2007 and the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2007 to 2010 before landing in St. Louis in 2011.
In 2012, Hitchcock led the Blues to a 49-22-11 record in the regular season as the team finished second in the Western Conference and he won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s coach of the year. Hitchcock won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999.
The 63-year-old Hitchcock and the Blues were eliminated by the Minnesota Wild in six games. The Blues had the best record in the Western Conference finishing at 51-24-7 but suffered the first round upset against the Wild, which qualified as a wild card.
Before signing Hitchcock to the one-year deal, the Blues were rumored to be interested in another veteran mentor in Mike Babcock, who eventually signed a lucrative deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hitchcock has a career record of 707-429-185 in 18 seasons as head coach in the NHL and has led his teams to 13 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances with a record of 76-72 in the postseason.
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