Hitch scratching one last itch
Back with first team he led, long-serving coach intends to leave a legacy
Like a moth to a flame, Ken Hitchcock was always attracted to the Dallas Stars. The fifth-longest serving coach in National Hockey League history would have been a good shortterm fit for the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks when he was looking for work last spring — especially if Travis Green had landed elsewhere — but that was never going to happen. Not a chance. Hitch got the itch again after considering calling it a career at age 65 when fired by the St. Louis Blues on Feb 1. However, it didn’t take long for the phone to ring and for his coaching confidants to remind the Edmonton native that he had a lot left in the motivational tank.
They knew what we all know. There was only one place that answered his desire to not only win, but to leave a legacy.
Hitchcock not only guided the Stars to a Stanley Cup championship in 1999, he kept close ties to the organization and the city during a 15-year absence when he directed the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Blues.
“I don’t know how long I want to (coach) — I just want to go year to year,” Hitchcock said Monday when reminded that he only trailed Scotty Bowman (2,141), Al Arbour (1,607), Joel Quenneville (1,551) and Lindy Ruff (1,493) in career regular-season games with his 1,466 behind an NHL bench. “What’s important is that we make this a good team and relevant in the city. And that’s really important to me. “I’m going to be with this franchise hopefully for a long time, whether I’m coaching or not. We need to get a real grip in the city and earn our way back to the front.”
Hitchcock’s impact has been instant and impressive.
The Stars missed the playoffs last season and were a mess. They lacked structure, discipline and desire and head coach Lindy Ruff was shown the door.
On Monday, they took the league’s top-ranked power play, second-ranked penalty kill and fifthranked faceoff efficiency into a meeting with the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Last season the Stars’ power play and penalty kill were ranked 20th and dead last respectively.
If that isn’t enough, Hitchcock is doing what he did with Mike Modano and Brett Hull. He has turned Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn into more complete players. And he challenged former Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis to be better conditioned and play better in a system suited for his style.
As for first-liners Benn and Seguin, there was a comfort factor with the long-serving winger and a curiosity with a centre often labelled a one-dimensional dilemma. Benn led the Stars after 11 games with 13 points (7-6) while Seguin had 11 points (6-5).
“Benn was easy because of our experience in the Olympics,” said Hitchcock. “Seguin was surprising to me. I felt and was told that his defence was the problem and it’s been the opposite. He’s got good instincts defensively. We have to work with his offence and get him to be more patient.
“He’s a guy I trust and is one of the few players in the league who can create offence by being in a defensive posture. We create a lot of oddman rushes because he’s able to check players off the puck easily.”
None of this surprises Benn because the 28-year-old captain welcomed what he knew Hitchcock would bring. He would be diligent and demanding and caring and critical.
“We’ve bought into what he’s pitching,” said Benn. “He demands a lot out of his leaders and has made us better players. There are no grey areas. We’re well prepared.”
Hamhuis always thought he was ready for whatever the game would present a 34-year-old blueliner on the final year of his contract. He was wrong. Hitchcock wanted much more and let the Smithers native know it in the off-season.
“He had to up his game,” said Hitchcock. “He took it seriously and really amped up his conditioning and has played well. He understands you can’t just rely on experience.
“This league is too good now. There is no respect for older players because younger players just don’t care. They steamroll you regardless of your age. You have to fight back and he’s done it and our structure from support from the front end helps.”
Responded Hamhuis: “He has given us some real good direction and our confidence is growing. I have played for him in international tournaments and he’s good at building the culture. We were a bit of a broken group coming in this year. When you have a clear mind of what’s expected, it’s easier to execute.”
It’s why Hitchcock has a level of admiration for Green. Talk is cheap but the rookie NHL head coach has come as advertised. The Canucks are benefiting from his willingness to keep Henrik and Daniel Sedin to measured minutes with the hope that they’ll respond offensively.
“Travis has done a hell of job of including everybody in the mixture,” said Hitchcock. “They’ve got balance and he’s made everybody accountable. Now they have depth and that’s what the league is — you take scoring players and try to make them two-way players.
“He has done a great job because they’re committed in both ends of the rink. And he’s got full commitment across the board from guys with whose reputations maybe weren’t that. Kudos to him.”