Hitchcock praised by Bowman, Babcock upon retiring as Stars coach

BOSTON -- Ken Hitchcock was always a great coach in Scotty Bowman's mind.

Then Bowman discovered the type of person Hitchcock is.
Bowman was scheduled to be the guest speaker at a fundraiser in London, Ontario, on Oct. 16, 2010. Proceeds would go toward the purchase of a new van and wheelchair lift for his great-nephew Robbie Stilson, then 5 years old.
RELATED: [Hitchcock retires as Stars coach, third in NHL wins | Ken Hitchcock career timeline]
Bowman recalled Friday getting a call at the time from his niece Heather, Robbie's mother, telling him about a generous donation the family had received from Hitchcock.
"He'd read about Robbie and the entire situation in an article in a London paper and decided to arbitrarily help out," Bowman said. "That says so much about what kind of man he is. We already all know what a great coach he is."
Hitchcock, 66, retired as Dallas Stars coach Friday, remaining with the organization as a consultant. His 823 wins are third most in NHL history behind Bowman (1,244) and Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville (884). He coached 21 NHL seasons with the Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and St. Louis Blues.
"He should be known as one of the best ever," Bowman said of Hitchcock, who went 823-506-119 with 88 ties. "He didn't worry about politics. He was always just concerned about results.
"When you played against a Ken Hitchcock-coached team, he always had the right players on the ice. And he always was progressive in his thinking. He was never afraid to change his tactics with the times.
"I remember we'd instituted the left-wing lock with the Red Wings in the mid-1990s. That was during his first stint in Dallas, and he was determined to crack it. When they finally won the Stanley Cup in 1999, he'd joke to me that he'd finally found a way to beat it."

Few hockey people know Hitchcock better than Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.
Armstrong was the Stars assistant GM when they won the Cup under Hitchcock in 1999. He hired Hitchcock to coach the Blues in 2011 and fired him six years later.
"We've always been friends and we'll always be, even after that," Armstrong said. "I talked to him last night and he's ready for this. It's time. But he'll never leave hockey. He loves it too much."
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock agreed.
"I called [Hitchcock] this morning," Babcock said. "An impressive, impressive career. He told me this year when we were in Dallas that he was thinking about [retiring].
"Obviously he wants to hit the golf ball and do something on his own. I imagine he'll probably end up being a consultant for about nine teams so he'll drive himself crazy as soon as he sits around for a while."
Hitchcock was one of Babcock's assistants during Canada's back-to-back Olympic gold-medal wins (Vancouver, 2010; Sochi, 2014).
"He's a good man, he found a way to be a good coach, he's been a winner for a long, long time, won at all levels, always found a way to get his teams to be better than they were the year before," Babcock said. "I mean, he's had a real good run.
"I enjoyed being around him. Had a lot of good laughs with him."

Boston Bruins forward David Backes played for Hitchcock in St. Louis from 2011-16.
"It's a little bit sad for me because I have a great relationship with him," Backes said. "He's a great coach but he'll serve in whatever capacity he is next.
Backes said he was discussing Hitchcock's future with Bruins teammate Rick Nash, who played for the coach with the Blue Jackets for four seasons from 2006-10.
"Both of us had him as a coach when we were captains, and we both kind of said we'll see if this lasts long or if there's another opportunity that arises, if he doesn't jump on it," Backes said. "But he's put a lot of time and energy and effort into the game and if he does decide to sail off into the sunset, he's had one heck of a career."