Article is from last year but I just found it today when doing some research on former Wing, Whaler, and Flyer Keith Primeau. Wasn't really expecting to see anything in the article Hitch related but kind of interesting how Primeau lays it out...makes me think that maybe Hitch deserves to continue coaching. Granted, he's talking about Hitch a long time ago but it sounds pretty much bang on even to this point in time.

Hitchcock was a tyrant with a veteran group of players that were part of their last hurrah as Flyers. Primeau became Hitch’s voice in the dressing room. No easy task.

“I tell my kids stories about Hitch all the time,” Primeau said. “He was tough. I know it happened in Dallas the first year until the lightbulb went out. The first three or four months I could not stand Hitch because of his delivery.

“Then I finally got past the delivery and listened to the message and 99.9 percent of the time, Hitch was bang-on. That is why we had such a good relationship. I became the conduit to the locker room.

“J.R. was always saying, ‘Hitch is always yelling at me.’ I said to J.R., ‘He yells at everyone. Get past that. Listen to what he is saying. He is saying the right thing.' That is the hardest adjustment for a professional athlete.”


http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philade ... urn-hockey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The one thing I'll say that I don't like about Hitch and never have is really the only thing I don't like about him: He expects every player to play the same way, no matter the skill set they bring. In theory that doesn't sound like a bad thing after all playing and adhering to a winning strategy sounds like a great plan. However, players are humans, not robots. Each player brings a unique skillset and to me the kind of coach/manager that I value is the kind that can bring the best out of individuals due to putting them in the best position to succeed according to their strengths and weaknesses.

Barry Trotz for example is getting a hell of a lot out of this year's Caps team and it's not just that he's adjusted their defensive scheme and picked up two decent defensemen. Ovechkin hasn't suddenly become some back-checking monster under Trotz. Trotz utilizes Ovechkin according to Ovy's strengths and adjusts his system to mask his weaknesses. That to me is the kind of strategy I'd like to see deployed by whomever takes over for the Blues. Hitch's system has always seemed like it was smashing square pegs into round holes.

If there is anything Army has proven in his years in St. Louis it is that you cannot trust anything he tells the media because he likes to keep his cards hidden.

I fully admit I have a bias because I was not in favor of the Blues hiring Army, but he has done nothing to change my mind. I think he has made bad trades (Perron, Halak, etc.) and overpaid players (Berglund, Ott, etc.). As the Blues GM I desperately want him to succeed, but I'm still waiting for him to do something to give me confidence he is capable of such a task.

NHLTIM wrote:Article is from last year but I just found it today when doing some research on former Wing, Whaler, and Flyer Keith Primeau. Wasn't really expecting to see anything in the article Hitch related but kind of interesting how Primeau lays it out...makes me think that maybe Hitch deserves to continue coaching. Granted, he's talking about Hitch a long time ago but it sounds pretty much bang on even to this point in time.

Hitchcock was a tyrant with a veteran group of players that were part of their last hurrah as Flyers. Primeau became Hitch’s voice in the dressing room. No easy task.

“I tell my kids stories about Hitch all the time,” Primeau said. “He was tough. I know it happened in Dallas the first year until the lightbulb went out. The first three or four months I could not stand Hitch because of his delivery.

“Then I finally got past the delivery and listened to the message and 99.9 percent of the time, Hitch was bang-on. That is why we had such a good relationship. I became the conduit to the locker room.

“J.R. was always saying, ‘Hitch is always yelling at me.’ I said to J.R., ‘He yells at everyone. Get past that. Listen to what he is saying. He is saying the right thing.' That is the hardest adjustment for a professional athlete.”


http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philade ... urn-hockey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If he stays, I want to see him knock 75 feet off of this 200 foot shit game that we've been watching,. Stop giving the opponent the red-carpet treatment upon entering our zone....knock them on their asses at the blue line and turn the puck around there. I can't stand watching this pussy brand of hockey any more.

Turk Sanderson wrote:

NHLTIM wrote:Article is from last year but I just found it today when doing some research on former Wing, Whaler, and Flyer Keith Primeau. Wasn't really expecting to see anything in the article Hitch related but kind of interesting how Primeau lays it out...makes me think that maybe Hitch deserves to continue coaching. Granted, he's talking about Hitch a long time ago but it sounds pretty much bang on even to this point in time.

Hitchcock was a tyrant with a veteran group of players that were part of their last hurrah as Flyers. Primeau became Hitch’s voice in the dressing room. No easy task.

“I tell my kids stories about Hitch all the time,” Primeau said. “He was tough. I know it happened in Dallas the first year until the lightbulb went out. The first three or four months I could not stand Hitch because of his delivery.

“Then I finally got past the delivery and listened to the message and 99.9 percent of the time, Hitch was bang-on. That is why we had such a good relationship. I became the conduit to the locker room.

“J.R. was always saying, ‘Hitch is always yelling at me.’ I said to J.R., ‘He yells at everyone. Get past that. Listen to what he is saying. He is saying the right thing.' That is the hardest adjustment for a professional athlete.”


http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philade ... urn-hockey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If he stays, I want to see him knock 75 feet off of this 200 foot shit game that we've been watching,. Stop giving the opponent the red-carpet treatment upon entering our zone....knock them on their asses at the blue line and turn the puck around there. I can't stand watching this pussy brand of hockey any more.

what you talking about Barc? Prevent D is and always has been the key to winning championships in all sports

Hitch has 4 years here with home ice 3 of those years and lost all 3. It's clear he cannot get this team past the 1st round and he is a pathetic 1-7 in his last 8 playoff series and 12-24 in his last 36 playoff games. He needs to go along with much of the core.

I can't believe there's any possibility that Hitchcock comes back as well as all of the core. I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm saying I cannot believe it's not cut and dried some big moves have to be made. Like the coach gone and some of the core. It's asinine to keep doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting different results. At this point this crew has proven they can't get the job done. As long as we were holding our ground or moving forward I supported all of them. Losing to the Wild so meekly was bullshit. People need to be held accountable and be moved on down the road.

It's not like a rebuild has to take place, we'll get some good players back in a couple of trades. Let's try some different stuff.

JesusNEVERexisted wrote:Hitch has 4 years here with home ice 3 of those years and lost all 3. It's clear he cannot get this team past the 1st round and he is a pathetic 1-7 in his last 8 playoff series and 12-24 in his last 36 playoff games. He needs to go along with much of the core.

not that it matters much, but we've actually had home ice all 4 years, and in each playoff series we've been in with Hitch.

Only series "this team" was the lower seed was in '09 under AM, getting swept by 'nucks.

barcthespark wrote:If there is anything Army has proven in his years in St. Louis it is that you cannot trust anything he tells the media because he likes to keep his cards hidden.

I fully admit I have a bias because I was not in favor of the Blues hiring Army, but he has done nothing to change my mind. I think he has made bad trades (Perron, Halak, etc.) and overpaid players (Berglund, Ott, etc.). As the Blues GM I desperately want him to succeed, but I'm still waiting for him to do something to give me confidence he is capable of such a task.

To be fair, David Perron has amounted to just a guy and is already on his 3rd team and was a flop there, playing with Sid the Kid. I would not trade Barbashev straight up for Perron today and that was basically the trade.

NHLTIM wrote:Article is from last year but I just found it today when doing some research on former Wing, Whaler, and Flyer Keith Primeau. Wasn't really expecting to see anything in the article Hitch related but kind of interesting how Primeau lays it out...makes me think that maybe Hitch deserves to continue coaching. Granted, he's talking about Hitch a long time ago but it sounds pretty much bang on even to this point in time.

Hitchcock was a tyrant with a veteran group of players that were part of their last hurrah as Flyers. Primeau became Hitch’s voice in the dressing room. No easy task.

“I tell my kids stories about Hitch all the time,” Primeau said. “He was tough. I know it happened in Dallas the first year until the lightbulb went out. The first three or four months I could not stand Hitch because of his delivery.

“Then I finally got past the delivery and listened to the message and 99.9 percent of the time, Hitch was bang-on. That is why we had such a good relationship. I became the conduit to the locker room.

“J.R. was always saying, ‘Hitch is always yelling at me.’ I said to J.R., ‘He yells at everyone. Get past that. Listen to what he is saying. He is saying the right thing.' That is the hardest adjustment for a professional athlete.”


http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philade ... urn-hockey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

His comments were pretty similar to Shatty's.
It's a fact that a lot of players, (and workers in other lines of work) don't want to be bothered. They don't want to be pushed. They want to be comfortable. It's the coach's job to bother, push, and take away their comfort, to get more out of them, than they want to give.

As much as J.R. bellyached about Hitch then, in his book, he admits that Hitch was the smartest coach he ever played for. He said he didn't like Hitch making him play defense, because he just wanted to play offense, but admitted Hitch made him a better player.
Much the same with Hull.

If Hitch comes back I would bet there would be several season ticket cancellations and probably lower regular season attendance next season as well.

The fact that tickets were still available the day of game 5 shows that many Blues fans thought this series was already over.

wizard pork sword wrote:

barcthespark wrote:If there is anything Army has proven in his years in St. Louis it is that you cannot trust anything he tells the media because he likes to keep his cards hidden.

I fully admit I have a bias because I was not in favor of the Blues hiring Army, but he has done nothing to change my mind. I think he has made bad trades (Perron, Halak, etc.) and overpaid players (Berglund, Ott, etc.). As the Blues GM I desperately want him to succeed, but I'm still waiting for him to do something to give me confidence he is capable of such a task.

To be fair, David Perron has amounted to just a guy and is already on his 3rd team and was a flop there, playing with Sid the Kid. I would not trade Barbashev straight up for Perron today and that was basically the trade.

I tell ya I did not see that one coming either. I often wondered what he could do if he played alongside a Crosby or Stamkos. Turns out not much more than he did playing alongside Oshie or Sobotka. There's still time I suppose, but he kinda is what he is at this point.

wizard pork sword wrote:

barcthespark wrote:If there is anything Army has proven in his years in St. Louis it is that you cannot trust anything he tells the media because he likes to keep his cards hidden.

I fully admit I have a bias because I was not in favor of the Blues hiring Army, but he has done nothing to change my mind. I think he has made bad trades (Perron, Halak, etc.) and overpaid players (Berglund, Ott, etc.). As the Blues GM I desperately want him to succeed, but I'm still waiting for him to do something to give me confidence he is capable of such a task.

To be fair, David Perron has amounted to just a guy and is already on his 3rd team and was a flop there, playing with Sid the Kid. I would not trade Barbashev straight up for Perron today and that was basically the trade.

Agreed on Perron and Barbashev. I know not many like MPS, but I still think he has a shot to be a good winger in the NHL.

I'll say it again. This past season was make or break for me. I've seen enough.

I'd at least move Oshie, Gunnarsson, Elliott and let Hitch "retire". This team needs a shake up, and the fans deserve some accountability.

Doug Glatt wrote:

wizard pork sword wrote:

barcthespark wrote:If there is anything Army has proven in his years in St. Louis it is that you cannot trust anything he tells the media because he likes to keep his cards hidden.

I fully admit I have a bias because I was not in favor of the Blues hiring Army, but he has done nothing to change my mind. I think he has made bad trades (Perron, Halak, etc.) and overpaid players (Berglund, Ott, etc.). As the Blues GM I desperately want him to succeed, but I'm still waiting for him to do something to give me confidence he is capable of such a task.

To be fair, David Perron has amounted to just a guy and is already on his 3rd team and was a flop there, playing with Sid the Kid. I would not trade Barbashev straight up for Perron today and that was basically the trade.

Agreed on Perron and Barbashev. I know not many like MPS, but I still think he has a shot to be a good winger in the NHL.

I'll say it again. This past season was make or break for me. I've seen enough.

I'd at least move Oshie, Gunnarsson, Elliott and let Hitch "retire". This team needs a shake up, and the fans deserve some accountability.

I just don't think moving an Oshie, Gunnarsson, Elliott or even a Bergland for that matter is enough of a shakeup. I think you move one of the big three from the old core....Backes, Steen, or Petro.

I don't think you give up on Petro just yet. I know you're disappointed in his lack of offense, but he turned it on better in the playoffs, just needs to put more shots direct on net rather than pass-shots. Outside of Allen, Petro was are most consistent player. I just don't think for the $$$, you are going to find a better all around player who still has potential to grow. Steen, Backes, Oshie, Berglund, Gunnerson, Jax,....yeah, I 'm ready. They're beyond growing with this team as a unit, toss a couple or more out, along w/ Hitch.

Turk Sanderson wrote:If he stays, I want to see him knock 75 feet off of this 200 foot shit game that we've been watching,. Stop giving the opponent the red-carpet treatment upon entering our zone....knock them on their asses at the blue line and turn the puck around there. I can't stand watching this pussy brand of hockey any more.

*applause*

bradleygt89 wrote:I don't think you give up on Petro just yet. I know you're disappointed in his lack of offense, but he turned it on better in the playoffs, just needs to put more shots direct on net rather than pass-shots. Outside of Allen, Petro was are most consistent player. I just don't think for the $$$, you are going to find a better all around player who still has potential to grow. Steen, Backes, Oshie, Berglund, Gunnerson, Jax,....yeah, I 'm ready. They're beyond growing with this team as a unit, toss a couple or more out, along w/ Hitch.

For me it's not necessarily about giving up on Petro, but rather that he's an asset that could land you the best return. Agree wholeheartedly on the rest. It's time for a couple of those guys to find new homes...starting with Oshie. Mr. Shootout can go be a fan favorite where they don't have legit post season aspirations.

bradleygt89 wrote:I don't think you give up on Petro just yet. I know you're disappointed in his lack of offense, but he turned it on better in the playoffs, just needs to put more shots direct on net rather than pass-shots. Outside of Allen, Petro was are most consistent player. I just don't think for the $$$, you are going to find a better all around player who still has potential to grow. Steen, Backes, Oshie, Berglund, Gunnerson, Jax,....yeah, I 'm ready. They're beyond growing with this team as a unit, toss a couple or more out, along w/ Hitch.

I'm not advocating trading Petro but he's a player that could be moved that would result in that major shakeup we are talking about.. I'm one of the few I know but I truly believe he's the one guy we can trade right now and we will have a much improved team come October.
How was Petro more consistent than Shatty? I guess it's just me but I sure as hell don't see it. I think Petro was just ok in the playoffs....based on who he is supposed to be for us.
Trading one of those three I mentioned above....that's a shakeup to me.

NHLTIM wrote:

bradleygt89 wrote:I don't think you give up on Petro just yet. I know you're disappointed in his lack of offense, but he turned it on better in the playoffs, just needs to put more shots direct on net rather than pass-shots. Outside of Allen, Petro was are most consistent player. I just don't think for the $$$, you are going to find a better all around player who still has potential to grow. Steen, Backes, Oshie, Berglund, Gunnerson, Jax,....yeah, I 'm ready. They're beyond growing with this team as a unit, toss a couple or more out, along w/ Hitch.

I'm not advocating trading Petro but he's a player that could be moved that would result in that major shakeup we are talking about.. I'm one of the few I know but I truly believe he's the one guy we can trade right now and we will have a much improved team come October.
How was Petro more consistent than Shatty? I guess it's just me but I sure as hell don't see it. I think Petro was just ok in the playoffs....based on who he is supposed to be for us.
Trading one of those three I mentioned above....that's a shakeup to me.

I agree Shatty was much better offensively, but I thought Petro made good strong plays defensively. Maybe he stood out so much because Bo and Gunner both played so terrible.

NHLTIM wrote:

Doug Glatt wrote:

wizard pork sword wrote: To be fair, David Perron has amounted to just a guy and is already on his 3rd team and was a flop there, playing with Sid the Kid. I would not trade Barbashev straight up for Perron today and that was basically the trade.

Agreed on Perron and Barbashev. I know not many like MPS, but I still think he has a shot to be a good winger in the NHL.

I'll say it again. This past season was make or break for me. I've seen enough.

I'd at least move Oshie, Gunnarsson, Elliott and let Hitch "retire". This team needs a shake up, and the fans deserve some accountability.

I just don't think moving an Oshie, Gunnarsson, Elliott or even a Bergland for that matter is enough of a shakeup. I think you move one of the big three from the old core....Backes, Steen, or Petro.

I wouldn't be opposed to trading more, but that is where I would start. That's why I said at least. I would also move J-Bo, but I think that'll be very tough to pull off. So I bet he stays.

I think Backes needs to be moved to the wing, and I think Steen is a really good two way player. I'm on the fence with Steen. So I wouldn't mind holding onto those two for another year.

With Petro I think it all depends on the return. I'd be hesitant because he is still young and developing. He still has potential, imo. I'd probably hold onto him for another year and evaluate after that. He had some flashes which displayed to me that he has another level. Can he consistently play at that level? Well that's the million dollar question.

NHLTIM wrote:
I just don't think moving an Oshie, Gunnarsson, Elliott or even a Bergland for that matter is enough of a shakeup. I think you move one of the big three from the old core....Backes, Steen, or Petro.

I think so too Tim.
Anything less, doesn't send the right message to the rest of the team.
For my money, it's Petro.
He probably brings more in return, and his soft and inconsistent play is symbolic of this teams problems. IMO, no matter how long he sticks around, he's never going to be a legitimate #1 dman.

Here's the problem. Backes has a NTC and isn't likely to want to move anywhere else. He's the captain here and has a lot of clout and control over the locker room. Why would he want to up his family to somewhere else?

Unless Hitch gets brought back and those two just don't like each other THAT much.

wizard pork sword wrote:He's the captain here and has a lot of clout and control over the locker room.

yeah, i think that's the problem.

Qapod The Mortician wrote:I can't believe there's any possibility that Hitchcock comes back as well as all of the core. I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm saying I cannot believe it's not cut and dried some big moves have to be made. Like the coach gone and some of the core. It's asinine to keep doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting different results. At this point this crew has proven they can't get the job done. As long as we were holding our ground or moving forward I supported all of them. Losing to the Wild so meekly was bullshit. People need to be held accountable and be moved on down the road.

It's not like a rebuild has to take place, we'll get some good players back in a couple of trades. Let's try some different stuff.

I'm a big Hitch fan and I think it's time for a new message. Him and the whole coaching staff has to go. That's just the way coaching is.

That being said, I agree we need to get rid of the country club guys and start trading for some winners.

wizard pork sword wrote:Here's the problem. Backes has a NTC and isn't likely to want to move anywhere else. He's the captain here and has a lot of clout and control over the locker room. Why would he want to up his family to somewhere else?

Unless Hitch gets brought back and those two just don't like each other THAT much.

I'd rather see Hitch back than Backes. I'm fed up with these clowns.