Kitchen was hired as an assistant coach by the
Newmarket Saints of the AHL for the
1988–89 season, and was subsequently hired for the same position by the
Toronto Maple Leafs, 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 franchise, a position he held until his elevation to head coach halfway through the
2003–04 NHL season. 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 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 which saw him reunited with head coach
Joel Quenneville. 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 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==