ST. LOUIS • Ken Hitchcock was rumored to be returning to an NHL bench as soon as Monday, but not in St. Louis.

Hitchcock, who was under contract with Columbus and considered a replacement for the struggling Blue Jackets this season, instead joined the Blues late Sunday night, reuniting himself with general manager Doug Armstrong.

The Blues took quick action after the club's 6-7 start, firing Davis Payne and naming Hitchcock the 24th coach in the franchise's history. He agreed to a contract that will run through the 2012-13 season, the club announced. A source said the team's assistant coaches are expected to be retained.

The Blues declined further comment until a news conference at 10:30 a.m. today. Hitchcock did not return a phone message.

Hitchcock, 59, has a long and decorated career and has a history with Armstrong. Hitchcock is 534-350-88-70 in 1,042 NHL games, and he won a Stanley Cup with in 1999 with Dallas, where Armstrong was the assistant GM at the time.

Hitchcock also was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2010, winning gold medals both years. Armstrong was an assistant GM on the staff in 2010.

Hitchcock's experience, familiarity and availability seem to be the key reasons the Blues acted just 13 games into the 2011-12 season. He was fired by Columbus in 2010, but in the final year of his contract this season, Hitchcock remained with the Blue Jackets as a consultant. With the Jackets embroiled in a disastrous start themselves at 2-11-1, there was rampant speculation in recent days that Hitchock would return to the bench in Columbus, replacing head coach Scott Arniel.

However, it appears Columbus didn't have immediate plans to turn to Hitchcock because the Blue Jackets granted the Blues permission Sunday to speak to him about their pending vacancy.

The club fired Payne after he coached in parts of three seasons with the Blues, whom he guided to a record 67-55-15. He was in the final season of a two-year contract.

Last season, Payne's only full season with the Blues, the club finished 38-33-11 and missed a playoff berth in the Western Conference by 10 points. After finishing on a positive note last season, expectations grew again last summer, but the team stumbled out of the gate this season.

The Blues are 13th in the West with 12 points, and their special teams are among the worst in the NHL. The power play is last in the league (7.5 percent), and the penalty-killing unit is 27th (73.8 percent).

Also, several of the Blues' top players are under-performing. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak is 1-6 with a 3.35 goals-against average and an .856 save percentage, while forward Chris Stewart has three points (two goals, one assist) and forward Patrik Berglund has five points (three goals, two assists).

Still, in an interview with the Post-Dispatch during the Blues' 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, Armstrong seemed confident that the Blues were still in a decent position. The team has played the most road games in the NHL this season (nine) and is about to embark on a five-game home stand beginning Tuesday against Chicago.

"When you look at our schedule, having to go coast to coast and play eight of our first 11 on the road, we hoped to be a couple of games over .500 now," Armstrong said Saturday. "But 6-6, it's a base for us to build on with this home schedule coming up the next few months."

Payne said late Sunday night that he was looking forward to the upcoming opportunity, but he understood the Blues' decision and even added that he supports it if the move helps the organization.

"It's shocking and it's disappointing, but in the end, you're responsible for all the areas of your hockey team," he said. "There were pieces that weren't firing on all cylinders and it's under my umbrella of responsibility. But I also can say that we were looking at a favorable schedule ahead and ready to turn the corner. That said, if this is what gets things going, then I'm all for it. I wish nothing but the best for the team and this group of guys. They deserve it.

"I'm more than grateful, more than grateful, to this organization for giving me a chance to coach in this league. The things that I learned and will learn from this, I owe a great deal of thanks."

Now the Blues' sculpting will be performed by Hitchcock. He becomes the fourth coach in six seasons under the regime of chairman Dave Checketts and team president John Davidson, following Payne, Andy Murray and Mike Kitchen.

The Blues are expected to go through an ownership transition soon, with Matthew Hulsizer becoming the majority owner, replacing Checketts. Sources said that Hulsizer put the coaching decision in Armstrong's hands and signed off on whatever decision he made.