Ken Hitchcock, who led Stars to only Cup title, returning as coach
— -- The Dallas Stars are bringing Ken Hitchcock back for a second tour of duty.
The official announcement isn't expected until Thursday, but sources confirmed to ESPN that the veteran bench boss will be unveiled as the Stars' next head coach.
Hitchcock, 65, coached for parts of seven seasons in Dallas, leading the Stars to their lone Stanley Cup championship in 1999. He will replace Lindy Ruff, who was fired Monday after the Stars missed the playoffs this season.
Hitchcock was fired by the St. Louis Blues in February and replaced by Mike Yeo. Hired by St. Louis in November 2011, Hitchcock posted a 248-124-41 regular-season record and transformed the Blues into yearly contenders, reaching the Western Conference finals last season.
He is second all time in wins for St. Louis, and his 781 career regular-season wins rank fourth in NHL history -- just one behind Al Arbour for third place.
Hitchcock has also coached the? Philadelphia Flyers?and? Columbus Blue Jackets. He also?has worked with multiple national teams for Canada, including the 2008 world championship squad that won the silver medal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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