Hitchcock signs 1-year extension with Blues, will be his final season
The St. Louis Blues signed head coach Ken Hitchcock to a one-year contract extension, the club announced Tuesday.
The 2016-17 season will be Hitchcock's sixth behind the Blues' bench, and 20th as a NHL head coach. It will also be his last, as Hitchcock announced he won't coach after next year.
"I just feel like I've got this really good year in me," Hitchcock said. "This season has invigorated me like no season before.
"There won't be any God damn farewell tour," he added, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford.
Armstrong had offered all assistants extensions. But Brad Shaw will not return. Shaw wants to explore other options. #stlblues
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) May 31, 2016
Assistant coach Kirk Muller is "also contemplating his future," according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Armstrong says Kirk Muller stands out as a potential succession plan to take over as Head Coach when Hitch walks away #stlblues
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) May 31, 2016
After three straight first-round playoff exits, the Blues advanced to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. After knocking off the Chicago Blackhawks - the reigning Stanley Cup champs - and Dallas Stars - the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference - in back-to-back gruelling seven-game series, they were defeated by the San Jose Sharks in six games in the Western Conference Final.
St. Louis enjoyed a tremendously successful regular season, their 107 points the fourth-highest in franchise history, despite myriad injuries to key contributors.
"Ken did a fabulous job, in my opinion, throughout the regular season and throughout the playoffs," general manager Doug Armstrong said.
"This group of players, their dynamic has changed, and it's really exciting now," Hitchcock added. "When we break through this ceiling, the potential is unlimited."
The Blues have finished first or second in the Central Division in each of Hitchcock's five seasons at the helm, and his .667 winning percentage is the highest of any St. Louis coach in franchise history.
Hitchcock has a lifetime 757-453-194 record, and a 224-103-36 record in the Gateway City. He won a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and is 76-72 in the postseason.