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Ken Hitchcock is all for returning the red line

St. Louis Blues v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 23: Head Coach Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues shouts instructions to his team during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 23, 2011 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. St. Louis defeated Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

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Yesterday we heard from Red Wings coach Mike Babcock about how he would like to see the return of the red line and the two-line pass. Today, it’s Blues coach Ken Hitchcock’s turn to lend his voice to the cause.

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal catches up with Hitchcock and finds out that his reasons for wanting to return the two-line pass run deeper than those of GMs hoping to slow down the game and limit concussions.

“With a red line it forces more of a puck-control game through the neutral zone, rather than a dumpand-chase game,” said Hitchcock. “There’s no puck-possession now, but a red line would bring back the playmaking centre. The centre who buys space and time would be back. Those nifty guys we saw before, they’re not around much anymore.”

Finding space and time on the ice where suffocating forechecking is a key defensive element these days on a crowded ice with bigger players is difficult as it is. Taking away that space by making sure no one can lurch out beyond the red line doesn’t seem to do much to help that cause.

As for the worry about the game turning like how it was before the lockout, Hitchcock says as long as they’re calling penalties for obstruction, all is well. Problem is those penalties aren’t being called as often now as they were after the lockout. It’s easy to read into the future and how this could end up causing history to repeat itself.

The idea of bringing the two-line pass back and putting the red line into play smells of taking the easy road towards trying to solve a problem in the league.