Ken Hitchcock, Blues Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

Despite three consecutive first-round exits in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Ken Hitchcock will return to coach the St. Louis Blues in 2015-16.  

According to the team's official Twitter account, the organization agreed to a one-year deal with the 63-year-old native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:

General manager Doug Armstrong and Hitchcock addressed the media on Tuesday. The St. Louis Blues passed along comments from the press conference:

Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provided more comments from Armstrong:

Hitchcock sports a .671 winning percentage in four seasons with the Blues, but they have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs despite their regular-season success.

The veteran coach is no stranger to going the distance, though, as he led the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup championship in 1999 and a repeat appearance in 2000. He has done well in stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Blues since then, but postseason runs have largely eluded him.

Since there is a great deal of pressure on St. Louis to go deeper next season, Matt Larkin of The Hockey News questions just how secure Hitchcock's job is:

There was a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the relationship between Hitchcock and the Blues following their loss to the Minnesota Wild in the first round, but Armstrong made it clear that figuring out a deal was a process, per Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet:

"

Ken and I are going to keep working towards having good communication and making sure we're both in the same vein, taking the same path as we move forward. It's something that we're working on every day, we’re trying to do it behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny. I'm aware that people want answers, but fortunately for us, we have a strong ownership group that understands that this is a process and we're going to make use of our time.

"

Tom Timmermann and Jeremy P. Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provided comments from Blues captain David Backes, who spoke about Hitchcock: 

"

I've got no issues with him. Does he ride guys hard and has he been on my case at times, where it's made me angry? Yes. But he does it in the light of trying to make our team better, trying to make each individual player better. I think if you get caught up in those individual moments at the time you're under the gun, having an interview, those comments come out. But when you take a step back and you realize, 'Oh that's why he was all over me because I was not being as productive as I could be,' he's very effective.

"

After a great deal of deliberation, Armstrong and Hitchcock were able to come to terms on something they both felt comfortable with.

There is no question Hitchcock is on the hot seat, though, since the Blues haven't performed up to their talent level in the playoffs during his tenure.

If the team doesn't win at least a round or two in 2016, it is difficult to envision him lasting longer than the life of his new contract.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.