The St. Louis Blues have 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. He has a lifetime 757-453-194 record, and a 224-103-36 record in the Gateway City.
Ken Hitchcock's last rodeo? Don't be surprised if Hitch says next season and his new 1-year contract will be his last as head coach in NHL.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 31, 2016
After three straight first-round playoff exits, the Blues advanced to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. 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 a myriad of injuries to key contributors.
They knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, in seven games, and eliminated the Dallas Stars - the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference - in another seven-game series.
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 won a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and has a lifetime 76-72 record in the postseason.
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