Ken Hitchcock and the St. Louis Blues announced a succession plan earlier this offseason, as Mike Yeo was announced as the head coach beginning in the 2017-18 season, while Hitchcock would sail off in the sunset following the completion of the 2016-17 season.
Hitchcock’s departure made sense, despite recent success in St. Louis, as his time behind the bench with the Blues reached a natural conclusion. Retirement seemed inevitable, but discussing the pending change with Darren Dreger of TSN.ca, Hitchcock admitted he’s not 100% sold on not coming back.
“That [coming back] is possible, but that’s in May or June and that’s a long time off and you know I just don’t think at this time…I don’t think it’s fair to do that,” Hitchcock told the Dreger Report. “I’m going to coach like crazy and I want to see how I feel and if I feel different then I will let somebody know. Other than that, I feel like I want to pour it all in now and then take stock at a different time.”
Hitchcock told Dreger a decision won’t come until much later. It sounds like he won’t be railroading the Blues succession plan, but may opt to join another team should he feel he has unfinished business in the league. That’s a reasonable compromise. The 64-year-old would be coveted, but it remains to be seen what will happen beyond the 2016-17 season. Hitch may be back.
[TSN.ca]
