Ken Hitchcock will be back behind the St. Louis Blues’ bench next season. The club announced today that the veteran head coach has agreed to return on a one-year contract.
That return was far from a certainty after the Blues once again failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs. There were reports the club was talking with Mike Babcock about replacing Hitchcock, before Babcock decided on Toronto.
But there’s no denying the Blues’ regular-season success (175-79-27) under Hitchcock. For them, it’s been a matter of getting it done in the playoffs, where the past three years they’ve lost to some good teams in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minnesota.
There will be a press conference this afternoon to discuss the extension.
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