Wrong Hitch for this wagon

Clarke and his new hire are destined for divorce

So Ken Hitchcock has landed in Philadelphia, which is about the only place you wouldn't have wanted him to end up. Hitch was fired by Dallas on Jan. 25 in the move that cost the Stars a berth in the postseason. Since then he's been the best available coach on the open market, the guy that any right-minded GM would want to hire.

Philadelphia, though, is a nightmare waiting to unfold. General manager Bobby Clarke rules the franchise so impetuously that no coach can ever lay plans beyond a day or two ahead. Hitchcock is a coach who needs to take a long-lens look at things, then gradually gets down to the micromanaging he does so well. Hitchcock thrives by using his head; under King Clarke, you never know when the guillotine will fall.

Clarke likes to push folks around but Hitchcock is not one to take it. He's a 50-year-old man wisely set in his ways. Hitchcock's astonishing coaching record -- exactly zero losing seasons at any coaching level anywhere, with two trips to the Stanley Cup finals -- has come by way of his unwavering principles and his exacting methods. Hitchcock knows what he wants. If you play the way he tells you to, you'll win. If you don't, you'll lose. It's pretty simple.

Hitch also has a good-sized ego, maybe even the size of Clarke's own. Does anyone think Clarke will be able to share the spotlight? How can he be the man when Hitch is?

Of course, Hitch's demanding style can cause a backlash from his players. Mike Modano griped about him; so did Brett Hull . Later, they looked up to realize that under Hitch they were playing the best all-around hockey of their lives. You better believe that Flyers veterans will grouse about Hitch's lecturing and nitpicking. If Hitchcock loses John LeClair or Mark Recchi, the dressing room could be a prickly place. Will Clarke stick with his new coach then? Or will he fear that "chemistry" has gone awry in Philadelphia -- as it so often does -- and make a change?

Hitchcock is a smart, perceptive coach, but when it comes down to it he never fully trusts his players. He rewards the players who buy into his vision and punishes those who don't. Hitch is a loyal guy who'll stand behind anyone giving an honest effort. Skimp on him, though, and he won't forgive you.

Philadelphia is already a weary club, continually browbeaten by its own leadership. Since Clarke took over the front office in '94, the Flyers organization has tried to bully its players into winning the Stanley Cup. Clarke and his coaches break their own goalies' confidence year after year. They show little loyalty to their players. Now a man with new hard-driving demands enters the picture? Get ready to forgive the Flyers players when they whimper next fall.

Hitchcock knows what it's like to coach in front of the Flyers' rabid and maniacally negative fan base -- he was a Philadelphia assistant from 1990-93 -- but he hasn't worked under Clarke. The GM has gone through five coaches and spent a staggering amount of money in his tenure, with only one trip to the Cup finals (five years ago) to show for it. That hasn't dimmed his confidence one bit.

It's too bad for the Rangers that Hitch didn't end up in New York. He would have gotten Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros and Petr Nedved and Radek Dvorak and everyone else committed, and the Rangers would have returned to the postseason. He would have shaped the roster to his liking -- perhaps that's what scared off GM Glen Sather -- and he would have shown that the knock on him for being too defensive minded and too boring is hogwash. Yes, Hitchcock demands defensive responsibility. He also sends his guys forechecking like mad. Hitch's teams may not rack up goals, but they play tight, gripping games full of movement; his Stars were not the Wild.

Hitch would have been a neat fit just about anywhere he went -- a guy with whom a team could have laid a foundation. Maybe, against all odds, he'll be that guy in Philadelphia. I wouldn't bet on it, though. This is one lousy fit.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Kostya Kennedy takes sides every Tuesday at CNNSI.com.

 

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