Oilers fire McLellan, name Hitchcock coach

NHL

The underachieving Edmonton Oilers have fired coach Todd McLellan and replaced him with Ken Hitchcock.

Despite Connor McDavid having another stellar season, the Oilers are 9-10-1 and in sixth place in the Pacific Division. After making a run to the conference finals in 2017, they missed the playoffs last season.

In three-plus seasons with the Oilers, the 51-year-old McLellan is 123-119-24 but made the playoffs just once. He also coached San Jose from 2008-2015.

Hitchcock has the third-most wins as a coach in NHL history, behind Joel Quenneville — who was fired by Chicago this season — and Scotty Bowman.

Hitchcock has coached the Stars, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Blues and, most recently, the Stars. He lasted one season in Dallas after a six-year run in St. Louis where he made the playoffs five times.

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