Fansided

Every current NHL franchise’s most beloved head coach

By Griffin Youngs

(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 11: Head coach Ken Hitchcock of the Dallas Stars looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on March 11, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 11: Head coach Ken Hitchcock of the Dallas Stars looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on March 11, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

Dallas Stars: Ken Hitchcock

In March, the NHL said goodbye to one of the winningest coaches in its history when Ken Hitchcock called it a career after 21 seasons as a head coach. Hitchcock currently ranks third among all coaches in NHL history with 823 wins, and is sure fire choice to make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.  

Hitchcock was hired by the Dallas Stars to replace Bob Gainey as the head coach in 1995 after serving three years as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers. After the Stars go 15-23-5 under Hitchcock in his first half season to miss the playoffs, the Stars bounced back to finish first in the Central, then went on to win the division again along with the Presidents’ Trophy, but fell short of the Stanley Cup in both seasons.

The following season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy, the Stars finished atop the league once again with an even better season for another Presidents’ Trophy before loading up for another playoff run. This time, Hitchcock led the Dallas Stars to glory. The Stars won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history with the infamous Brett Hull “Toe in the Crease” 2-1 triple-overtime goal against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Final. The next season, Dallas was right back in the Finals, but they found themselves on the other end of fate this time around with an overtime loss in Game 6, costing them their chance at back to back Stanley Cups.

After losing in the second round the season after losing the Finals, the Stars went 23-17-6-4 and decided it was time to move on from Hitchcock after five full seasons. Dallas topped the 100-point mark in each of Hitchcock’s five full seasons as the head coach.

Ever since the glory from the peak of the Hitchcock era, the Stars have been searching to recapture what was accomplished, even going as far to rehire the man himself in 2017. The Stars unfortunately missed the playoffs after a poor run down the stretch, and Hitchcock decided to call it a career after that.

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