Today St. Louis Blues and coach Ken Hitchcock announced a one-year extension to his contract. Hitchcock later confirmed in a press conference that 2016-17 will be his final year and plans to retire from coaching once it’s over.
The Blues advanced to the West Final for the first time since 2001 this season, losing to the Sharks in six games.
“I just feel like I’ve got this really good year in me… This season has invigorated me like no season before.”- Ken Hitchcock
Hitchcock has led the Blues to the playoffs each of the five seasons he’s been in charge. The Blues had the chance to play for the Stanley up for the first time since 1970, but having gone the seven-game distance the first two rounds could have done them in by the time Game 6 against the Sharks rolled around.
There will be at least one change to the coaching staff. GM Doug Armstrong said today that associate coach Brad Shaw will not be back. The rest of the staff has been offered one-year extensions to match Hitchcock’s according to a report on NBC Sports.
Hitchcock has a record of 224-103-36 record in 363 games behind the bench in St. Louis. He has coached in the NHL for 19 seasons, spanning 1,404 games and his 757 regular season wins ranks fourth all-time in NHL history. He will easily surpass Al Arbour (782) for third on the all-time wins list, but will still trail Joel Quenneville (801) and Scotty Bowman (1244) by the time he retires next year.
He’s led his teams to 13 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, winning one championship with the Dallas Stars in 1999. He’s also won one Jack Adams Award in 2012 with St. Louis.
