Ken Hitchcock was named the fourth head coach in Columbus Blue Jackets history on Nov. 22, 2006. He has compiled a 511-345-127 record in 983 regular season games with the Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars during his NHL coaching career. In 11 full seasons behind the bench, he has led his teams to nine Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances, six division titles (Dallas, Central Division: 1996-01; Philadelphia, Atlantic Division: 2003-04) and a pair of second place finishes, while recording at least 40 wins nine times and 100 points on eight occasions. He has also led his teams to a 66-55 record in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a 16-7 mark in 1998-99 when he guided the Stars to the Stanley Cup.

Hitchcock has compiled a 103-96-27 record in 226 games since joining the Blue Jackets, leading the club to its first Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance with a franchise-best 41-31-10 record (92 pts.) in 2008-09. He became the 13th coach in NHL history to record 500 wins when the Jackets earned a 4-3 shootout win at Toronto on Feb. 19, 2009 and currently stands 11th on the all-time wins list. On Apr. 5, 2008 at St. Louis, he became the 20th coach in NHL history to coach in 900 or more games.

Hitchcock began his professional coaching career as an assistant coach with the Flyers from 1990-93 before spending two-plus seasons as the head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings/Michigan K-Wings, Dallas’ International Hockey League affiliate. He took over as head coach of the Stars midway through the 1995-96 season and in 1996-97 led them to the Central Division title. That year, Dallas became just the ninth team in NHL history to go from last place to first place in one season. The club’s 38-point improvement from 66 to 104 was tied for the fifth-best in league history.

Hitchcock spent parts of seven seasons in Dallas, compiling a 277-166-60 regular season record and 47-33 playoff mark. He led his teams to five Central Division titles, two President’s Trophies (1997-98, 1998-99) and two Western Conference championships (1999, 2000) in addition to the 1999 Stanley Cup. He holds Stars franchise records for wins (277), playoff wins (47), playoff winning percentage (.588) and in 1998-99 led the club to franchise single season records for wins, points and highest winning percentage with a 51-19-12 mark and 114 points (.695). He was nominated for the Jack Adams Award three times (1997, 1998, 1999) and served as the Western Conference’s head coach in three All-Star Games (1997, 1998, 1999).

On May 14, 2002, he was named Flyers head coach and led the club to a 131-83-40 record and a 19-18 mark in the playoffs. Philadelphia posted three-straight 100-point seasons from 2002-06, captured the Atlantic Division title in 2003-04 and advanced to the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. On Mar. 21, 2006, Hitchcock guided the Flyers to a 2-1 win over New Jersey, becoming the fifth-fastest coach in NHL history to record 400 wins (736 games). He also served as an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference in the 2003 and 2004 All-Star Games.

Hitchcock has also represented Canada at numerous international competitions. He was named head coach of Team Canada for the 2008 World Championships and led the squad to the silver medal. He also been an associate coach for Team Canada at the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games, winning the gold medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, and will again serve in that capacity at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. He helped Team Canada win the World Cup of Hockey Tournament in 2004 as an associate coach and was an assistant on gold medal-winning squads at the 2002 World Championships and the 1987 World Junior Championships.

Prior to joining the professional ranks, Hitchcock was one of the winningest coaches in the history of the Western Hockey League. From 1984-90, he led the Kamloops Blazers to a 291-125-15 record with his .693 winning percentage ranking second in WHL history. He was the league’s Coach of the Year in 1986-87 and 1989-90 and was also named the Canadian Major Junior Coach of the Year in 1989-90 after leading Kamloops to the WHL championship and a third place finish in the Memorial Cup Tournament.

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Hitchcock was born on December 17, 1951. He resides in Columbus.

NHL COACHES WITH 500 OR MORE WINS

*denotes active coaches