Confirmed with Link: Ken Hitchcock Returning as Head Coach (Wilson, Barnes, Fraser as Asst. Coaches)

[hatcher]

You guys are gonna be hard to beat now. Two way hockey is needed and you'll be coached it now. Great move Dallas.

 

[Mr Misty]

On what basis is Sutter more obsessed with size than Hitch? Did the Kings specifically trade for a bigger body to fulfill Sutter's demand for size or did he coach what already existed? Were the Blues any smaller than the Kings? Petro, Parayko, Bouwmeester, Backes, Reaves, Berglund, Brodziak,...heck they even dealt the relativey smaller Oshie for a much bigger Troy Brouwer. We have size too, but not being used effectively offensively, which is what Sutter had the Kings doing and won them 2 cups.

Kings goal scoring has suffered because of reasons not limited to Voynov's canning, Williams leaving, and Brown, Gaborik, and even Kopitar not being able to offensively ignite after their extensions.

A big reason why I am not for Hitchcock because it's a short-term fix and not a.long-term one, and has Nill trying to save his job written all over it. This is much like Hicks parading Nieuwendyk with a "Look, it's Mr.1999!!" to save his face and the fanbase yearning for glory ate that up. Yeah, Hitchcock will get us in the playoffs for a couple of seasons that he is coach, but you will likely see this team just as stagnant as the Blues are. Again, I don't mind eating crow if I am wrong, but that's my assessment for now.

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-17-nhl-teams-by-height-weight-and.html

2nd/3rd/5th in h/w/age. Is this seriously the first time you are hearing about this? I feel like my entire time on HF has featured a consistent stream of "Player X isn't a center here because he's too short" and "Prospect Y won't be given a chance because he isn't big" from Kings fans on the trade board. St Louis is 12/6/15 btw, and we were 3/4/3.

And the reason they don't score is none of those, it's that the system suppresses offense on both ends. Meanwhile, plenty of Blues still get their goals. The Stars succeeded last year by playing high event hockey and Hitch even said that is the future we are headed towards. That's not Daryl Sutter's way, and as I said before I'm not really sure where you are getting your information about him from.

 

[Mr Misty]

You guys are gonna be hard to beat now. Two way hockey is needed and you'll be coached it now. Great move Dallas.

Maybe that would be the case if we had some depth up front, on the blueline, or in net.

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

He's a good coach, I'm fine with the hiring.

 

[Starsdude]

Hitch back

One year deal-Beginning to think Nill sucks and got lucky with Seguin

How do you build something with an old coach on a one year deal. I get we need defense and all but Weird and likely wrong

 

[jbron]

Thats Hitch's choice to work on a one year deal . He had the same situation with the Blues. He's a hall of fame coach that isn't in the
game for money. He will certainly improve the Stars as he will hold the
players accountable.

 

[Morry83]

Wait Hitch is back?

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

Time to bring Modano back into the fold.

Have him coach forwards, the powerplay and off-season tanning activities.

 

[BeaverSports]

Hitchcock is an interesting choice. I like the fact Nill got this done early because this isn't like any other off-season. Almost immediately after the Stanley Cup is presented, the expansion draft will be upon teams.

Having a guy in-house who can plan for two months and see your young guys on the farm extensively is probably a good thing this year and that's one reason why it was smart not to wait for assistant coaches on contending teams. The idea of being left with a lesser choice was also not desirable.

I look at St. Louis over the past few years and I can still think of a lot of offensive players who managed to produce, so I don't imagine the change will be that stifling on guys like Seguin or Spezza who free wheel a bit. If anything, structure and less D-zone time may help.

Some may also remember that in junior, Hitch coached a run-and-gun game in Kamloops and he was a big fan of the '80s Oilers and how thy played. If he has the personnel, I can see him letting the players go within reason. His defensive persona really came in after he got to the NHL and with Gainey's influence.

I'll be interested in who the assistants are and if the Stars target a few more older players to help the process along. I remember stories about Carbonneau, in particular, and Hull really working as go-betweens during the Cup year, sharing Hitchcock's message in a way that mitigated the hard edge he's known for. I'm not sure I see those guys here, unless Sharp is re-signed.

- And another point I forgot to mention, when you have a guy who is less than a year removed from coaching in the division, you get someone who is acutely familiar with the Blackhawks, the Predators, the Blues, etc. and already has ideas of how to beat them. There's a lot less familiarization than there might be with someone else.

 

[OttMorrow]

There seems to be a lot of overlap between "big problems the Stars have" and "areas of Hitch's expertise."

Exactly.

 

[OttMorrow]

Maybe that would be the case if we had some depth up front, on the blueline, or in net.

I agree (except about our forward depth...it's fine), and I think those moves are coming.

I don't think we'll be breaking the piggy bank in the offseason to bring on a top 6 forward...I can tell you that.

 

[Mr Misty]

I agree (except about our forward depth...it's fine), and I think those moves are coming.

I don't think we'll be breaking the piggy bank in the offseason to bring on a top 6 forward...I can tell you that.

My thinking is we are about to shed Hemsky, Sharp, Hudler, and possibly another forward via expansion. As it stands we are pretty lean once you get past our 3rd best forward.

 

[Indianation65]

You have a company, and you decide to hire a guy who already stated he wanted to quit the business entirely, but he got fired instead.

Yep, he's the "right" choice for the job. Good grief Grimaldi's! I'll go get a slice and try not to think about it.

 

[Troy McClure]

Can't imagine this makes Nichushkin eager to come back... Some stronger defensive fundamentals overall being instilled could be good, and Hitchcock is only a year removed from taking the Blues to the Conference finals. But my knee jerk reaction when I saw the news this morning was like a lot of people here, "ugh"

If having a coach who expects effort is a deal breaker for Nichushkin, he might as well never leave the KHL.

 

[Clardz]

If having a coach who expects effort is a deal breaker for Nichushkin, he might as well never leave the KHL.

I said that mostly in jest, meant it more in terms of Hitchcock's history with Russian forwards, most recently Tarasenko. http://www.stlouisgametime.com/2011/11/11/2554392/ken-hitchcock-and-playing-russian-roulette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHQfpSPOonM

 

[Troy McClure]

I said that mostly in jest, meant it more in terms of Hitchcock's history with Russian forwards, most recently Tarasenko. http://www.stlouisgametime.com/2011/11/11/2554392/ken-hitchcock-and-playing-russian-roulette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHQfpSPOonM

Some of those are amazing. Embarrassing, even.

- Irbe wasn't re-signed because he was terrible. Irbe would also laugh at you if you called him Russian.
- Makarov was signed by Gainey with hopes he could help the PP, but he couldn't skate at an NHL level any longer. It was a no risk gamble to help a bad team.
- Gusev was a prospect traded for a veteran forward as part of the Stars loading up for a Cup run.
- Lyashenko was traded after Hitchcock was fired. Yes, I looked this one up.
- Kamensky was done as an NHL player and was a terrible signing by Gainey.

This writer had no idea what he was talking about when it comes to Hitch's history with "Russians" who played for the Stars.

 

[OttMorrow]

My thinking is we are about to shed Hemsky, Sharp, Hudler, and possibly another forward via expansion. As it stands we are pretty lean once you get past our 3rd best forward.

I see where you're coming from. It will be less deep upfront more than likely.

I do think Hemsky is coming back.

Add A HEALTHY Janmark back into the fray (hopefully), and it looks better.

I think Shore plays a bigger role next season, and Dickinson enters the scene full-time...maybe Smith as well. Gurianov could easily have a breakout season and be an impact player for us as well.

I think we're relatively good cap-wise right now, so if we needed to bring on another cost-controlled 2nd line forward it'd be doable...Anyone know how our cap looks going into next season?

 

[Satan]

Artus Irbe, the Russian

 

[Mr Misty]

I see where you're coming from. It will be less deep upfront more than likely.

I do think Hemsky is coming back.

Add A HEALTHY Janmark back into the fray (hopefully), and it looks better.

I think Shore plays a bigger role next season, and Dickinson enters the scene full-time...maybe Smith as well. Gurianov could easily have a breakout season and be an impact player for us as well.

I think we're relatively good cap-wise right now, so if we needed to bring on another cost-controlled 2nd line forward it'd be doable...Anyone know how our cap looks going into next season?

Yeah I hope we make some moves and guys are healthy, but things are just in the air.

About 23m in space plus possibly 2m increase. Lindell Ritchie Faksa Janmark need new deals, maybe 8m total? Need a 3-4m forward I'd say to round things out in addition to new goalie and new defenseman. Getting those done with the 12m left is doable for sure.

 

[OttMorrow]

Yeah I hope we make some moves and guys are healthy, but things are just in the air.

About 23m in space plus possibly 2m increase. Lindell Ritchie Faksa Janmark need new deals, maybe 8m total? Need a 3-4m forward I'd say to round things out in addition to new goalie and new defenseman. Getting those done with the 12m left is doable for sure.

A lot in the air for sure. It's going to be a WILD offseason with the Expansion Draft and the new system coming under Hitch. Major personnel changes are likely in store once the Expansion Draft is behind us.

I am pretty optimistic about next season. I think Hitch will get the most out of this team (at least short term before he wears out his welcome). If he can do what he did for Modano with Seguin, and round him out into more of a complete Center, that'd be helpful. I think he will help Klingberg in the D-Zone...if Hitch can't, then nobody can.

 

[Magic Mittens]

Hopefully Hitch can get Johns back on track. Looked like he got lost trying to play more of a 2way game. Same with Nemeth also.

I think Smith will be a 4th liner next year. He's pretty good on the PK and could be a guy Hitch really likes

Can't wait for the draft and exp draft. Hurry up playoffs

Also go Ducks! Till the 3rd round

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

He's really talking up the 2015-2016 Stars...and making fun of Tim Cowlishaw.

Really stressing about the importance of the neutral zone, possession time etc... "whoever controls the two bluelines controls the hockey game"

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

more from the press conference...

-Multi year coaching deal with consulting gig after that according to Nill.
-Hitchcock says he "knows when to get lost", more than he did 10 years ago.
-Used the term "millennial" quite a bit, lol
-Wants coordinators rather than assistant coaches
-Knows what he wants in assistant coaches/coordinators. Will start interview process next week.

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

He doesn't want to lose the "reckless energy", says that's what makes the team special.

He's really pimping out the Stars energy levels from the 2015-2016 year, like a lot. Pretty much ignoring this year's team altogether.

 

[Hockey Dad]

I think this years team is weird because of the injuries and I really don't think Ruff was coming back reguarless. I think the team tuned him out because of that.