Hitch third in NHL coaching wins
EDMONTON • Ken Hitchcock has put a brief retirement behind him to coach his hometown Edmonton Oilers, replacing the fired Todd McLellan.
Edmonton is languishing in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 9-10-1 record entering its game Tuesday night in San Jose against the Sharks.
McLellan was in his fourth season behind the Oilers’ bench. The team missed the playoffs in two of his previous three campaigns despite having superstar Connor McDavid on its roster.
McLellan is the fourth coach to be fired this year, following John Stevens in Los Angeles, Joel Quenneville in Chicago and Mike Yeo in St. Louis. There were no in-season coaching changes in the NHL in 2017-18, the first time that had happened since 1966-67.
McLellan was the sixth man to coach the Oilers since the team fired Craig MacTavish at the end of the 2008-09 season, following Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Ralph Krueger, Dallas Eakins and Todd Nelson.
Hitchcock, 66, is an Edmonton native and sits third in career coaching wins with 823 behind only Scotty Bowman (1,244) and Quenneville (890).
Here are 5 Things to know about the latest coach who will try to guide the once proud franchise out of the hockey wilderness: Early Days: The Oilers job won’t be Hitchcock’s first coaching gig in the Edmonton area. He cut his teeth behind the bench coaching a Triple-A midget team called the Sherwood Park Chain Gang for 10 years. Blazing a Trail: Hitchcock found immediate success as head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers when he assumed head coaching duties for the 1984-85 season. The Blazers won four division titles and two league titles under his watch, and Hitchcock was named the top coach in major junior hockey in 1990. Shooting Star: After a few seasons as an NHL assistant coach and a head coach in the American Hockey League, Hitchcock was promoted to head coach of the Dallas Stars on Jan. 8, 1996, after Bob Gainey stepped down to concentrate on general manager duties. Hitchcock posted a 277-154-60-12 record in his first stint in Dallas, including a Stanley Cup victory in 1999. Consistent Success: While Hitchcock has not won another Stanley Cup over his 22-season career, his teams have usually been competitive. In two stints in Dallas as well as runs with Philadelphia, Columbus and St. Louis, Hitchcock posted a record of 823-506-88-119 with eight division titles. He won the Jack Adams award as the league’s coach of the year in 2012. O Canada: Hitchcock is also a decorated international coach, helping Canada win Olympic gold medals as an assistant coach in 2002, 2010 and 2014. He was also an assistant on Canada’s gold-medal team at the 1987 world junior championship.