Blues vow to increase pace, play 'reckless' next season

The St. Louis Blues have unearthed a trend.

Reintroducing Ken Hitchcock to the St. Louis media Tuesday after re-upping the coach on a one-year deal, he and general manager Doug Armstrong harped on increasing team speed – an asset on full display in the conference finals.

"The four fastest teams in the league are playing right now," Hitchcock said. "They're the four fastest in October and November and they're still playing. We've got to get that pace, and we can do that."

And it's not just speed the Blues desire. We're talking pace without repentance.

"We've got to go back to reckless. (Our style is) too conservative, it's too careful, it's too much skill ahead of work. We've got to get back to reckless." Hitchcock said.

"We've got more skill than we've ever had since I've been here. But skilled, careful hockey doesn't win. You've got to play reckless."

You sure you have the goaltending to play that loose, there, Hitch?