from Jeremy P. Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

In the NFL especially, there’s video every Sunday of coaches congratulating players on a victory, followed by a stacking of hands and then a breakdown: “1-2-3, TEAM!”

The NHL and the Blues are no different, but what Ken Hitchcock instructed his players to say before a meeting in Buffalo last month was far from customary. It’s far from appropriate for print, too, which is why several blushed when asked about it.

“1-2-3, Coach is an (expletive),” Hitchcock acknowledged. “It was humorous.”

No self-deprecating comical moment like that would ever dispel Hitchcock’s reputation of grating on individuals. That is cemented on, like the gray hoodie he wears every waking moment that he’s not behind a bench.

But neither that, nor the perception that his power with players was lost when the Blues went looking for a new coach last offseason, nor discussion about him being on the “hot seat” seems to bother the 64-year-old.

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