Ken Hitchcock Has Been Fired: The Aftermath

As many Columbus Blue Jacket fans have already heard, Ken Hitchcock was fired today. A few weeks ago, I'd written a few articles about Hitchcock's record, post-lockout vs. pre-lockout, and the results were stark.

I am not an "I told you so" type of guy–I know my share of those, locally, who do that. And, I'll be the first to tell you that I'm writing this with a heavy heart, as I've met Ken Hitchcock, and you couldn't meet a nicer, more gracious man–a man who is extremely respectful of the media and the role they have. In fact, the Philadelphia Flyer writers had nothing but kudos about their experience in dealing with him, and I can't think of any higher praise.

It will be endlessly documented as to the reasons why: the inconsistent treatment of players–aka, too long a leash for the veterans, too short of one for the young players; the Filatov fiasco; the players no longer buying into his system; the ever-changing NHL game–"The new NHL"–and Hitch's inability to adapt, as Lindy Rupp was able to do; that he had worn out his welcome, something that had occurred at his previous two NHL stops.

While there were many issues with his handling of the team, don't doubt for a minute, that this starts and ends with Ken Hitchcock. Hitch didn't win over 500 games or coach Stanley Cup, Olympic and World Championship squads by mere chance.

So, while there appeared to be an asymmetric fit between the coach, the General Manager (GM), the ownership and the direction, don't ever doubt that Hitch WAS the reason this once joke of an organization established stability and credibility.

Hitch was the absolute right guy to do that; but sadly, he was the wrong guy to take the team to the next level, as his tight-checking, two-way, defense first, physical system has yet to work, post-lockout, in the later rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

While I will elaborate on where the real failures occurred in a future article–something about losing 30 of your last 37 games seems to cause a bit of "writers block"–I will say that the predominance of the failings occurred in the areas of drafting, player development, player personnel–Draft, UFA, Trades–and, above all, ownership.

So, before we cast Hitch as the sole reason for this season's failings, he is not the scapegoat, in any way.

Right now–for me, anyway–this startling news has to be absorbed, for a little while, before I can elaborate. More to follow soon...