St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the club and Head Coach Ken Hitchcock have agreed on a one-year contract.
Hitchcock, 63, was originally named the 24th head coach in Blues history on Nov. 7, 2011. Since, he has guided the Blues to four straight postseason appearances, three 100-point regular season campaigns and two Central Division championships. In 2014-15, he captured his second Central Division title with the club, while logging the third-best regular season record in franchise history (51-24-7, 109 pts).
During Hitchcock’s four-year tenure, the Blues have posted the NHL’s best regular season record (175-79-27, .671) and achieved three of the top four regular season records in franchise history. Hitchcock’s success has landed him second on the club’s all-time wins list and first in terms of points percentage (.671). Hitchcock has reached several milestones behind the Blues’ bench including Mar. 12, 2015, when he became the fourth coach in NHL history to reach 700 career regular season wins. In addition, in the Blues’ Central Division-winning 2011-12 campaign, he became just the fourth head coach in franchise history to receive the NHL’s Jack Adams Award as the League’s best coach.
Overall, the Edmonton, Alberta native has posted a 708-429-185 (.606) all-time regular season mark, slotting him fourth on the NHL’s all-time wins list. In 18 NHL seasons, including stints with Dallas, Philadelphia, Columbus and St. Louis, he has led his teams to eight division titles and a dozen 100-point regular seasons, while he is the only coach in League history to record at least 125 regular season wins with four different teams. In his postseason career, Hitchcock has made 13 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances (76-72 all-time record), including 1999, when he captured the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars.
Internationally, Hitchcock has represented Canada at numerous international competitions, including earning a silver medal as head coach at the 2008 World Championships, while capturing gold at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympic games as an associate coach. In addition, he served as an assistant coach on gold medal-winning teams at the 2002 World Championships and the 1987 World Juniors.
