An interesting note about Hitchcock....

[theohall]

Ken Hitchcock has coached for 15 seasons in the NHL (currently in his 15th). 9 of the prior 14 seasons his team had 40+ wins. One of those 14 season with less than 40 was 06-07 when Philly fired him and Columbus hired him. Since the Blues had played 14 games prior to bringing Hitchcock on board, it is kind of astonishing he could be leading the Blues to 40 wins solely under his watch. Yes, the Blues have already won 40 games. However, if the Blues win just 7 more games this season, which seems very likely, they will have won 40+ games out of 68 solely under Hitchcock. That is one damned impressive record to have 40 wins as a coach in 10 out of 15 seasons.

Another thing of note which is still being researched... Apparently Hitchcock's system makes goalies look better, or so some believe. Going to dig into this by reviewing his past teams and see what arises. One thing is clear - he coaches winners.

One question: What happened in 06-07 with Philadelphia? I was deployed at the time and missed the stories. So what if he was having a slow start at 1-7? He had led them to 3 straight 40+ win seasons.

[thedoc]

I had no idea about this stat. Thanks for letting us know. Gives us some hope for the future.

[dmiles2186]

If his system makes goalies better, I'm cool with that. Has there ever been a system in St. Louis that makes goalies look better?

It's just been so fun to see the Blues buy into what Hitch is selling. Whether that's because of leadership or just because they believe in Hitch, it's been a treat to watch these guys play since game #14 when Hitch took over. They're a completely different team.

[goon attack]

Like everyone else here, I'm a huge fan of the 'Cock.

[deadphish]

Sheet, imagine Hitch coaching from the start of the season. We'd be running away with the President'w trophy right now. So I guess it's a good thing we had Payne for a little while .

[gaijin]

Which is funny considering our collective reaction when he was hired. "Ken Hitchcock? Really???" Although that was usually followed by "As long as he gets the job done, I guess it's okay."

Look at us all now...

[dmiles2186]

Which is funny considering our collective reaction when he was hired. "Ken Hitchcock? Really???" Although that was usually followed by "As long as he gets the job done, I guess it's okay."

Look at us all now...

Want to see something funny? I was looking through old threads a few days back and stumbled upon this one: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27778&hilit=hitchcock+fired

I almost bumped it to the top of the board but I figured everyone would freak out thinking JD and co. were off their rockers.

[gaijin]

Which is funny considering our collective reaction when he was hired. "Ken Hitchcock? Really???" Although that was usually followed by "As long as he gets the job done, I guess it's okay."

Look at us all now...

Want to see something funny? I was looking through old threads a few days back and stumbled upon this one: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27778&hilit=hitchcock+fired

I almost bumped it to the top of the board but I figured everyone would freak out thinking JD and co. were off their rockers.

Wow. Look who the first one to reply was...



What's that I taste? Crow?

[theohall]

Hard to find goalie rankings by team so went with GA overall for Hitchcock coached teams and where those teams wound up:

Goals Against rankings in relation to Hitchcock teams:

94-95 11th 135 season before Hitchcock
95-96 19th 280 Hired mid season finished
96-97 3rd 198
97-98 2nd 167
98-99 1st 168
99-00 3rd 184
00-01 2nd 187
01-02 18th 213 fired mid season
02-03 3rd 169 season after Hitchcock

01-02 7th 192 season before Hitchcock
02-03 2nd 166
03-04 6th 186
05-06 17th 259 shift in goalie philosophy by GM - went with younger goalies Nyttamaki and Esche
06-07 30th 303 fired early

05-06 26th 279
06-07 17th 249 hired fairly early season
07-08 9th 218
08-09 9th 230
09-10 26th 259 fired mid season
10-11 26th 258 season after Hitchcock
Considering the goaltenders for these Columbus teams, those two top 10s in GA are amazing.

11-12 currently 2nd 128 (hired early season)

My take: Yes, Hitchcock's system helps reduce GA. However, this system can make average goaltenders look great and weak goaltenders look good. Does this take away from Elliott and Halak? My answer: 1) No, it does not take away from Elliott, because he was playing great before Hitchcock arrived. 2) Halak has benefitted considerably from Hitchcock's system. There is rarely pressure on Halak to be the difference in the game, and because of that he is just fine making those big saves which don't seem to be needed as often as they were in the more offensive system Payne favored.

The system will still make both of them look great with fantastic GAA numbers and opportunities for shutouts. It is still up to them to maintain their save percentage by maintaining focus and making the big saves which don't happen as often. Save % will still be inflated somewhat, because the system forces shots from bad areas, usually. It's the lack of pressure on the goalies which allows them to perform better than if they had to constantly stand on their heads. I've heard the theory that some goalies need more and more work. IMO, it is insane. More work means more film on that goalie and more information an opponent has on how to be that goalie. Less work, less film on the netminder, more rested goalie, advantage goaltender.

[DaDitka]

My take: Yes, Hitchcock's system helps reduce GA. However, this system can make average goaltenders look great and weak goaltenders look good. Does this take away from Elliott and Halak? My answer: 1) No, it does not take away from Elliott, because he was playing great before Hitchcock arrived. 2) Halak has benefitted considerably from Hitchcock's system. There is rarely pressure on Halak to be the difference in the game, and because of that he is just fine making those big saves which don't seem to be needed as often as they were in the more offensive system Payne favored.

The system will still make both of them look great with fantastic GAA numbers and opportunities for shutouts. It is still up to them to maintain their save percentage by maintaining focus and making the big saves which don't happen as often. Save % will still be inflated somewhat, because the system forces shots from bad areas, usually. It's the lack of pressure on the goalies which allows them to perform better than if they had to constantly stand on their heads. I've heard the theory that some goalies need more and more work. IMO, it is insane. More work means more film on that goalie and more information an opponent has on how to be that goalie. Less work, less film on the netminder, more rested goalie, advantage goaltender.

Also please note......there is a cost to playing this system.

It's called 'goal scoring'. With our short shifts, defense first mentality, tons of changes while in the offensive zone, it's no wonder scoring is down throughout the line-up.

I'm by no means complaining, I'm just pointing out a big reason for the drop in goal scoring from so many sources.(it does not explain the power play struggles though)

However, Stewart can not use this excuse because for most of the season he wan't doing his job defensively either.

[glen a richter]

Which is funny considering our collective reaction when he was hired. "Ken Hitchcock? Really???" Although that was usually followed by "As long as he gets the job done, I guess it's okay."

Look at us all now...

Want to see something funny? I was looking through old threads a few days back and stumbled upon this one: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27778&hilit=hitchcock+fired

I almost bumped it to the top of the board but I figured everyone would freak out thinking JD and co. were off their rockers.

Reading through that thread was a hoot, plain and simple.