Ken Hitchcock

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Lore & Background

Hitchcock became a major league coach in January 1996 when the Dallas Stars named him coach with 43 games remaining in the season. The following season was the start of five elite years for the team, where they won five consecutive division championships to go along with reaching the Conference Finals in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup in 1999, which they won in six games over the Buffalo Sabres. They reached the 2000 Stanley Cup Final but lost to the New Jersey Devils in six games; Hitchcock was fired 50 games into the 2001-02 season. He was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2002 and coached them to three playoff appearances, which included a Conference Finals appearance in 2004 but was fired eight games into the 2006-07 season. He was quickly hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets that year and coached four seasons, where he helped them reach their first Stanley Cup playoffs in 2009; he was fired the following season. He was hired to coach the St. Louis Blues in 2011, and in his first season he led them to their first division title in twelve years. They reached the Conference Finals once in 2016 but Hitchcock resigned from the Blues on February 1, 2017. Hitchcock initially retired after spending the 2017-18 season with the Stars as coach but returned to coach the full 2018-19 season (82 games) for the Edmonton Oilers before he was let go. Hitchcock is the third-winningest coach in NHL history with a total of 849 victories. He was named a 2019 Order of Hockey in Canada recipient. Hitchcock was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2023.

In Their Own Story

The 1998-99 season was the pinnacle. Hitchcock led the Stars to a 51-19-12 regular season record. In the playoffs, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final and won in six games over the Buffalo Sabres. It was the franchise's first Stanley Cup. The following season, Hitchcock again led the team to the Stanley Cup Final, but they lost to the New Jersey Devils in six games. After the 2000-01 season, where the Stars exited in the Conference Semifinals, the team got off to a 23-21-6 start in 2001-02. With strife between players and management, Hitchcock was fired 50 games into the season. He returned to Dallas on April 13, 2017, as head coach for the second time. On December 21, he earned his 800th win as NHL head coach when the Stars defeated the Blackhawks 4-0. On April 13, 2018, Hitchcock announced his retirement.

Reader's Guide

Hitchcock's coaching career began in junior hockey, leading the WHL's Kamloops Blazers to four consecutive division titles and league titles in 1985–86 and 1989–90. He was named WHL Coach of the Year in both league-title seasons and was named the top coach in Canadian major junior hockey in 1990. In six seasons in Kamloops, he recorded a 291–125–15 record, second best in WHL history. He later served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers before coaching the IHL's Kalamazoo Wings (later Michigan K-Wings). His NHL head coaching career included stints with Dallas Stars (two tenures), Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, and Edmonton Oilers. He won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and the Jack Adams Award in 2012 with St. Louis.

Did You Know?

• Hitchcock was fired 50 games into the 2001-02 season with the Dallas Stars, not midway through the season.
• He led the Dallas Stars to their first Stanley Cup in 1999, defeating the Buffalo Sabres in six games.
• Hitchcock is the third-winningest coach in NHL history with 849 victories.
• He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2023.