Dallas Stars: Ken Hitchcock Is Best Choice For Head Coaching Job
After four days of vigorous searching, the Dallas Stars have named Ken Hitchcock to be their newest head coach. That’s unsettling for some Stars fans. Before you go up in arms against Hitch, here’s why it’s a good idea to trust him.
As the Dallas Stars approached the 2017 offseason, they had quite the shopping list on their hands.
After an abysmal 2016-17 season that left the Stars with a final record of 34-37-11 and 79 points, it was clear that change was required. It was the second worst season in Stars’ franchise history and followed a 2015-16 season that was filled with excitement, hope, 109 points, a Central Division title, and the Stars falling one win short of a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
It’s no secret that 2016-17 caught the Dallas Stars front office, team, and fanbase completely off guard. And when a drastic drop-off such as this occurs, change is inevitable.
A 4-3 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night helped close the book on the season, and general manager Jim Nill wasted no time in getting to his list.
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His first big move came Sunday afternoon when the Stars announced that Lindy Ruff would not return as head coach in 2017-18 after a four-year stint with the team. His contract was up and a season like that was not the secret to generating a new deal. Now, it’s hard to pin the season on coaching alone, but when things go south in a given season, it’s usually the coach who takes the heat.
While Ruff worked wonders in his four years and helped the Stars out of the Western Conference cellar and back into the thick of contention, he could never really get them to take the next big step. For these reasons, Ruff is likely going to find new employment with another team that needs help getting “back in the game” this offseason.
But with Ruff gone, it was Nill’s job to find a coach who will help Dallas take the next big step (a.k.a contending for a Stanley Cup).
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On Monday at exit interview day, he made a formal announcement that he had contacted and was looking closely at three coaches. Everyone was quick to make assumptions on who the three candidates were. Nill explained that he wanted to get a new coach in place quickly, preferably within a 7-10 day timeframe.
Dallas Stars
It wasn’t even 48 hours later when NHL sources confirmed that the Stars had come to terms with former Blues coach Ken Hitchcock to become the next coach of the Dallas Stars.
Earlier today, a press conference was held that officially introduced Ken Hitchcock as the newest head coach.
It’s been a crazy week to say the least.
For Hitchcock, this will be his second run as bench boss for the Stars. After Bob Gainey was fired for in 1995-96 for starting the season 11-19-9, Hitchcock came in and began an immediate turnaround. In his first full season in Dallas, he led the Stars to first place in their division with a 38-point jump. He would end up leading them to five consecutive division titles.
Then in 1998-99, he did it. After a 51-19-12 season, the Dallas Stars won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. They made two straight appearances in the Finals, though they fell in six games to the New Jersey Devils in 2000.
Hitchcock was fired in the middle of the 2001-02 season due to his demanding style of coaching that was worsening his relationship with the players. His record with the team was 23-17-10 at the time, and that season happened to be the only season between 1996-97 and 2007-08 where the Stars missed the playoffs. All in all, he posted an impressive record of 277-154-72.
Now he’s back to hopefully improve on that record, and that scares some Stars fans. In fact, some believe that Hitchcock is not the best choice for the job and that Dallas made a mistake in hiring him.
But that’s not the right frame of mind. In fact, Hitchcock is hands down the best choice for the Stars at the current time.
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The biggest concern with Ken Hitchcock is how he goes about getting the most out of his players. Unlike Ruff and the majority of other coaches, Hitchcock is focused on results, first and foremost.
“This is not going to be fun everyday,” Hitchcock said at the presser. “But forming a partnership with you guys [Stars’ players] is going to be more important than anything.”
He’s up front and open about his methods, and he’s determined to do anything in order to get the job done. If that means being physically or even mentally trying on the team instead of giving them an off-day here and there, then so be it.
Hitchcock is a demanding coach and puts results above feelings. Considering the state that the Dallas Stars are currently in, they could use that. The past few years have been about slowly easing into potential. Hitchcock will be the one to go out and grab it.
He has extensive knowledge of the Stars’ roster, system, and style considering he has been coaching against them in the Central Division for the past four seasons. During 2015-16, he faced off with Dallas an overwhelming 14 times and talked about the “reckless energy” that he saw in each game and how he is prepared to bring that back in what he is expecting to be a quick turnaround.
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His numbers don’t lie in terms of shutdown defense and special teams, two areas that the Dallas Stars struggled heavily with this past year. His defensive-minded system can mix well with the Stars’ current offensive style and form a delicate balance.
Sure he’s a demanding coach, but he knows how to get the most out of his players. With a primarily young roster to deal with, he’s got plenty of room to develop different players and mold them into an effective and cohesive unit.
Hitchcock knows the city well. He’s the guy to thank for pinning hockey on the map in Big D and building much of the fanbase that the Stars know today. His work ethic is downright impressive and hard to match.
When you put Hitchcock in charge, you know that he’s going to get the job done. He might take some crazy routes to get there, but he’ll get there. In the end, that’s exactly what you want in a head coach.
And the fact that it’s a multi-year deal means that the Stars won’t have to worry about immediately finding a successor.
But with the Hitchcock hiring, Dallas Stars fans can be sure of one thing: this team is fully embracing the “win now” theme. A veteran coach who knows the game as good as any coach in the league is hard to come by, and the Stars just happened to find the perfect one for the job.
Next: Hitchcock Has A Lot Of Work Ahead Of Him
So before you keep stress-tweeting and exclaiming your uncertainties, give him a chance to get rolling. If Hitchcock can’t get something done with these Dallas Stars, then there must be something seriously wrong with the organization as a whole.
No pressure, though.