Hitchcock changed Blues into Stanley Cup contender

ST. LOUIS -- From the moment Ken Hitchcock was named St. Louis Blues coach in 2011, the idea was for him to help drive them back to respectability.

With the Blues set to play the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN-US, SN360), it was another day of preparation Wednesday for what they have been striving for: to be among, if not the best in the League with hopes of an extended run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hitchcock, who is 697-423-95 with 88 ties in 18 seasons, hopes people don't judge the Blues and their body of work simply on playoff success.

The work has been arduous at times, and there certainly have been challenges, but the rewards of having them on the cusp of success has been rewarding.

"I don't think you can guarantee any success in the postseason; every team tries for six weeks," Hitchcock said. "I think your body of work, I'm like everybody else living in St. Louis; we want to have more success in the postseason than we've ever had, unlike everybody else. But your body of work tells you everything about the coaching staff.

"Sometimes the body of work is playoff success, but I think any time you just focus on the playoffs, you don't give the eight months of work any credence, and I think that's really unfair to the whole organization. So for me, I look at it as a body of work. I realize the playoffs are for the players and we want to try and have as much success, but I think it all ends up adding to the pile. In other words, in order to have success in the playoffs, you've got to build such a strong foundation that you can absorb some of the pitfalls that happen during a playoff run."

When the Blues brought Hitchcock on board after a 6-7-0 start to the 2011-12 season, they were on the cusp of feeling like they could be a Stanley Cup contender.

The Blues, after three straight seasons of losing hockey following the 2004-05 lockout, were able to push through under coach Andy Murray before being swept in the Western Conference Quarterfinals in 2009. Then came two seasons of records above .500, but those with the Blues knew the growth was in progress.

Davis Payne became coach midway through the 2009-10 season but missed the playoffs in two straight years. There was a sense more experience was needed behind the bench. Maybe someone with a winning pedigree, someone with Stanley Cup Playoff experience could be the missing piece.

That someone was Hitchcock, who had a history in the Dallas Stars organization with Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

"[Hitchcock's] meticulous and has a phenomenal game plan," Blues captain David Backes said. "He probably spends too much time watching hockey, to tell you the truth, but he's always prepared, he gives us a good game plan and he's done his research on building teams. … Davis was a young, energetic coach that was a little wet behind the ears for a head coach in the NHL, and you went to a guy that's older and more experienced and has been around the block a few times, knows what he's talking about and injected a confidence right when he came in.

"… It's a continuing of the evolution of rebuild. We were a lot of raw talent at the time and we've become a good team of players that look after each other and have been built as a group. It's come a long way, but we haven't accomplished anything. We know that and we keep that in perspective."

Hitchcock quickly turned the Blues into a Western Conference force. They finished 49-22-11 (43-15-11 under Hitchcock) in 2011-12, won a division title for the first time since 2000, and narrowly missed out on the Presidents' Trophy, which went to the Vancouver Canucks.

Hitchcock won the Jack Adams Award that year, becoming the fourth Blues coach to do so (Joel Quenneville in 2000, Brian Sutter in 1991, and Red Berenson in 1981).

"The reason we've got a solid body of work is the buy-in from the players," Hitchcock said. "I think the buy-in for me seemed to be quick and instant. We've continued to grow.

"The buy-in was so quick. There wasn't any pushing or pulling; it just happened right away. I think that's what makes you proudest. … The one thing that experience tells you is fixing problems, we all feel like we want to fix the problem so we try to fix it with too much information. I felt like if we could abbreviate the information and increase the energy, that the problems with get solved."

The Blues have qualified for the playoffs in each of Hitchcock's three seasons and appear to be well on their way to a fourth trip at 40-18-5 and second in the Central Division. But the missing key ingredient has been postseason success. It would complete the circle.

"Every time you're in the playoffs, you're giving yourself a chance, but I think the thing I'm proudest of is we're consistent," Hitchcock said. "We don't cheat ourselves. We have a great work ethic between coaching staff, players, trainers, everything. We have a great work ethic here. I think that permeates through the organization."

The Blues have one playoff series victory (2012 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the San Jose Sharks) and they've been eliminated in each of the past two seasons in the conference quarterfinals.

In each of the past three postseasons, the Blues have been eliminated by either the eventual Stanley Cup champion (the Kings in 2012) or conference finalists (the Kings in 2013 and Chicago Blackhawks in 2014).

They continue to work on building the foundation of a winning culture that rubs off beyond the regular season, and Hitchcock is the right guy to continue the foundation.

"We've come a long ways," right wing T.J. Oshie said. "It seems like now, for the most part the core of this hockey team is a good core; there's a good 10 guys in here that have been here for a little while now. All those guys know how to play the game, they know the way that we have to play and the example that we have to set. That all comes from 'Hitch,' from what he's instilled in us.

"I've always felt like we've always had a pretty strict style of play, but I think [Hitchcock's] really good at making guys understand why we need to do stuff. He breaks things down in a way that hopefully guys can understand the way I've understood it. He's done a great job, and now it's our turn to take it over."

Hitchcock is 164-73-25 with the Blues, and his season-by-season winning percentage with them has been remarkable (.702, .625, .677 and .675). He's looking for the reward at the end of the rainbow, more so for the players he coaches.

"I get records, I get playoffs and all that stuff, but I've said before, the playoffs are for the players," Hitchcock said. "They really are for the players, but the season and the way we've been consistent month-to-month is a real feather in the cap to the level of buy-in from the guys."