The Hitchcock approach

What message is St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong sending his players by firing the young, first-time head coach Davis Payne and replacing him with the grizzled veteran Ken Hitchcock?

It's not about the dressing room anymore, boys.

Hiring Hitchcock, a coach who can spot a phony effort from three time zones away, tells us that Armstrong thinks he may have a few fakers in his under-achieving lineup. Guys who carry themselves as if they've accomplished something in the game, even though the team they're currently playing for hasn't done squat in ages.

When Hitchcock arrives, either a player digs in and learns to play the way Hitchcock demands, or he wilts -- because he can't, or won't play the game the right way. Or, by Hitch's version of the right way.

We know. Hitchcock has a shelf life. But before the best before date, Hitchcock will find ways to challenge players who think good is good enough, which just may sum up eight or nine players inside that Blues room.

So here's the warning for the other 29 GMs: If Armstrong is shopping someone in the coming days and weeks, it is because that player can't handle a tough, demanding coach like Hitchcock; he doesn't want to sacrifice his game for the greater good; or he requires a coach with a gentle hand, not a stiff boot.

Is it fair to Davis Payne? Well, he clearly wasn't the solution to mobilizing a large amount of talent into a team that won more than it has lost. The Blues have made the playoffs just once since the lockout -- lost their only playoff round -- and since Payne replaced Andy Murray on Jan. 2, 2010, the Blues have never been anything more than a Western also-ran.

If they don't get better fast in St. Louis, my read is those players are more oblivious than first thought. And by the trade deadline, they may want to install swinging doors on that dressing room.

Three-way street

Tyler Seguin will always be caught up in that hockey love triangle between he, Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall. And on Saturday night in Toronto, with Kessel's stock never having been higher, Seguin walked into the Air Canada Centre and notched a hat trick in a 7-0 Boston whuppin'.

"It's absolutely special," said Seguin, who scored on all three of his shots. "It's nice to have this as a memory, to be able to look back on it and have my first hat trick coming in Toronto."

Kessel (10-11-21) still sits atop the NHL scoring race, but hasn't scored in four games now. Hall has 3-6-9 in just a dozen games into his second year as a pro, and is a fine player. Now Seguin —- drafted one spot after Hall, a draft pick that Toronto traded to Boston -— suddenly has seven goals and 14 points in 12 games, and the best plus-minus in the NHL at plus-10.

The Leafs, meanwhile, got steamrolled at home on a Saturday night.

"A big game for us and they kicked our ass, every which way," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "They're around last place right now, struggling, and this should be a team you want to bury."

Toronto's next four games are against others they might want to bury: Florida, St. Louis, Ottawa and Phoenix. There shouldn't be any reason for that Boston loss to linger.

Wander in the desert

With realignment supposed to be the most salient topic when the NHL's Board of Governors meet at Pebble Beach Dec. 5-6, there is only one problem: What about Phoenix?

You can't do a full realignment until you know where the Coyotes are going to be next season, but we're not sure the league is ready to announce it has pulled the plug on Phoenix in the first week of December.

And even if they were, would they not have to have a relocation city in mind? Do you think they're ready to trot that news out as well?

They haven't formally agreed to the new rink in Quebec City, and surely the NHL wouldn't award a franchise until ground is broken, with Quebec's history of wonky construction deals. And behind Quebec City, which town is next in the queue?

Kansas City? Please. That would be another American force-feed.

Seattle? No arena.

Toronto? We're all for that, but something tells us they're not going to have that issue sorted out in the next month.

Mark Spector is the senior columnist on sportsnet.ca