Michael Elwin Kitchen (born February 1, 1956) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

and coach. He most recently was an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. As of February 2016, Kitch has coached in over 2400 NHL games including playoffs. In 2012/2013 he assisted in coaching the Hawks to their longest winning streak without a loss. He also spent time as the Head Coach of the Lake Simcoe Snappers, the Georgina Men’s League Champions. He was selected in the third round of the

1976 NHL Amateur Draft The 1976 NHL Amateur Draft was the 14th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec, on June 1, 1976. It's notable as featuring one of the weakest first rounds in draft history, as only two players (Rick Green and Bernie F ...

, 38th overall, by the

Kansas City Scouts The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where ...

. He was also taken in the seventh round of the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft, 83rd overall, by the

Toronto Toros The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. History The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 season. Haro ...

, although Kitchen ultimately chose to enter the NHL. Kitchen was born in

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from th ...

, but grew up in

Schomberg, Ontario Schomberg (2021 population 2,656) is an unincorporated village in northwestern King, Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the Oak Ridges Moraine and south of the Holland River. Schomberg is accessed via Highway 9, which links Orangeville a ...

. Mike is well known for his charitable work and has used his day with the Stanley Cup to raise funds for

Southlake Regional Health Centre Southlake Regional Health Centre (formerly York County Hospital) is a hospital located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Through various expansions during its history, it has grown into a university-affiliated teaching and research facility, specifi ...

and other local charities. Kitchen is the older brother of Bill Kitchen, also a former hockey player.

Playing career

A defensive defenceman, Kitchen played his amateur career with the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

of the Ontario Hockey Association, winning a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

in 1975. He turned professional for the 1976–77 NHL season, serving a brief, 14-game apprenticeship Rhode Island Reds of the AHL, before making his NHL debut. Kitchen joined the Colorado Rockies in his first professional season, and spent his entire NHL career with the same franchise. The team moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

after the

1981–82 NHL season The 1981–82 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 65th Season (sports), season of the National Hockey League. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the goaltenders from the team with the fewest goals against ...

, and Kitchen went on to play two more seasons for the New Jersey Devils. Kitchen was sent to the Maine Mariners of the AHL for the entire

1984–85 NHL season The 1984–85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series. League business This was the first ...

, and decided to retire following that season's conclusion.

Coaching career

Kitchen was hired as an assistant coach by the

Newmarket Saints The Newmarket Saints were a minor league hockey team in Newmarket, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1986 to 1991 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Ray Twinney Complex. After the 1985–86 season, the Tor ...

of the AHL for the 1988–89 season, and was subsequently hired for the same position by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, where he spent eight seasons helping them to conference finals appearances in 1993 and 1994. He then left Toronto for the same position with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

franchise, a position he held until his elevation to head coach halfway through the

2003–04 NHL season The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup champions were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series four games to three against the Calgary Flames. For the fourth time in ...

. The Blues struggled and were 9th place in the Western Conference when they fired Joel Quenneville and replaced him with Kitchen as head coach. However under Kitchen, they picked up their play and went 10–7–4 in the process to make the playoffs once again. In the 2005–2006 NHL season, Mike Kitchen led a younger group of Blues to a 21–46–15 record. 2006–2007 started the same as the Blues stumbled out of the gate to a 7–17–4 mark. On December 11, 2006, after a seven-game losing streak, Kitchen was fired as head coach of the St. Louis Blues and replaced by former

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

head coach Andy Murray. Blues president John Davidson indicated that he would like Kitchen to remain with the organization in a different capacity. At the end of that season, Kitchen left the Blues to become an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers in 2007. He stayed with the club through the 2009-2010 season. With that contract having expired, on July 12, 2010 Mike agreed to a contract with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

which saw him reunited with head coach

Joel Quenneville Joel Norman Quenneville (born September 15, 1958) is a Canadian–American ice hockey coach and former player in the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Coach Q", he is second in NHL coaching wins at 969 behind Scotty Bowman. Quenneville ac ...

. Joel and Mike had coached together in St. Louis from 1998 - 2003, leading the Blues to a franchise record 114 points in 1999-2000 while winning the President’s Trophy. The Hawks were fresh off their first Stanley Cup victory in 49 years. Since arriving, Kitchen helped the team win two more Stanley Cups, in 2012-2013 and in 2014-2015. Kitchen was relieved of his duties with the Blackhawks, which focused on defense and the penalty kill, on April 24, 2017 following the team's second consecutive first-round playoff exit, this time against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

after a 4-0 sweep. In 2018, Kitchen joined Team Canada for the first time as an assistant coach. The team participated in the 92nd Spengler Cup, which was held from 26 to 31 December 2018 at the Vaillant Arena, Davos. Canada placed second in this tournament. After being away from hockey for two seasons, Kitchen reunited once more with Joel Quenneville this time with the Florida Panthers again for the second time In his career as an assistant coach with the team, this time instead working under Quenneville’s watch for the upcoming 2019-20 NHL Season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

Transactions

*July 15, 1976 - Kitchen's rights transferred to Colorado after the franchise relocated *June 30, 1982 - Kitchen's rights transferred to New Jersey after the franchise relocated

Awards

*1975 - OMJHL First All-Star Team *1975 - Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and 2015 – Stanley Cup Champion *2016 - Inducted into the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame in the category of Athlete/Hockey. Click on the link and watch Kitchen’s induction ceremony and video documentary. https://aurorashof.ca/inductee/mike-kitch-kitchen/

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchen, Mike 1956 births Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Blackhawks coaches Colorado Rockies (NHL) players Florida Panthers coaches Fort Worth Texans players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kansas City Scouts draft picks Living people Maine Mariners players New Jersey Devils players Sportspeople from King, Ontario Sportspeople from Newmarket, Ontario Rhode Island Reds players Stanley Cup champions St. Louis Blues coaches Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Toronto Marlboros players Toronto Toros draft picks