Report: Player suggests this is his coach's last chance with the team.

Ken Hitchcock is likely on his last legs with the St. Louis Blues. General manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday that the Blues agreed to terms on a one-year contract to retain head coach Ken Hitchcock, but the decision was only made after a failed courtship of coveted coach Mike Babcock. Now team captain David Backes has re-iterated the fact that this is likely Hitchcock's final opportunity to make something of the club. "I think they'd be amiss not doing their due diligence," he said of Babcock, speaking to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "That being said, it's a business. In the end, they came back and they said that Hitch is their guy and he's got a one-year deal to prove that he can get a job done." Backes also suggests that his and other members of the team's relationship with the former Jack Adams winning bench boss is rocky at this point. He does however understand that it is all in the goal of bringing a Stanley Cup to the St. Louis for the first time in their history. "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," Backes said. "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." Hitchcock has managed the NHL’s best regular season record (175-79-27, .671) in his four year tenure. However, there was talk of the Blues relieving him of his duties after another disappointing postseason. Hitchcock has made 13 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances (76-72 all-time record), including 1999, when he captured the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars. Should the Blues flounder once again in the Playoffs next season, be certain that Hitchcock will be back on the market.