Hitchcock enjoys his return to Columbus

Ken Hitchcock is a Hall of Fame coach, a winner of 849 games – sixth most in NHL history – as well as the Stanley Cup.

After building himself from a junior coach in Western Canada into one of the most successful NHL mentors of all time – not to mention a three-time Olympic gold medalist – his life in hockey stands alone. But as he still talks to people around the league, he hears about one thing that a lot of people just can’t stand.

That, of course, would be the cannon at Nationwide Arena. The iconic Civil War cannon has become synonymous with Blue Jackets hockey, and Hitchcock was one of the people behind bringing it to Nationwide Arena – much to the chagrin of many people around the league.

“I get (crap) for it from other teams,” he said Thursday before he was recognized by the Blue Jackets and dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game against the Islanders. “The people here love it. But I run into people from other teams, and they’re complaining to me or they’re giving it to me because they think I invented it. I was just part of the problem bringing it here. I wasn’t the whole problem.”

Be that as it may, it’s fair to say the Blue Jackets likely wouldn’t have the cannon atop Section 111 of Nationwide Arena for all home games were it not for Hitchcock, a noted Civil War buff who did a tremendous amount of reading in his time in Columbus about the impact the city had on the conflict.

The Blue Jackets are named after the coats worn by the Union Army, many of which were made in Columbus, and as Hitchcock dove into the history, discussions inside the organization began about finding a suitable cannon to add to the atmosphere at Nationwide Arena. The 1857 Napoleon-style cannon was discovered in Illinois by CBJ staffers and made its debut at the arena in October 2007 during Hitchcock’s tenure.

“I did a lot of studying of what went on during the Civil War here in this city and found out that this was a melting pot for a lot of Union things, whether it was making uniforms or the armory or stuff like that,” Hitchcock said. “To me, that Blue Jacket connection hit. And then when the cannon was made available and we bought it, I don’t think we thought it would last as long as it has, legacy-wise. But it sure has.”

While that little bit of history stands out, Hitchcock also helped deliver history on the ice for the Blue Jackets – as well as other teams around the league. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this past autumn as a builder, he led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup championship in 1999, was the skipper for 14 playoff teams and spent 22 years in charge of the Stars, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Blues and Oilers from 1995-2019.

The Edmonton native became the fourth head coach in Blue Jackets history on Nov. 22, 2006, and led Columbus to a 125-123-36 record in 284 games behind the bench from 2006-10. He piloted the Blue Jackets to the franchise’s first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2009 with a 41-31-10 record and currently ranks second on the club’s all-time games coached list and third in wins.

When Hitchcock arrived, the best the Jackets had done was a 35-win season under Gerrard Gallant in 2005-06. Hitchcock was hired midway through the 2006-07 season, pushed the team into playoff contention a year later and finally took the squad to the Stanley Cup Playoffs a year later.

Rick Nash led the way with 40 goals and 79 points, veterans Kristian Huselius and R.J. Umberger added scoring depth, Mike Commodore and Jan Hejda held down the blue line, youngsters Jakub Voracek and Derick Brassard chipped in, Jason Williams and Antoine Vermette were shrewd trade acquisitions, and a rookie named Steve Mason won the Calder Trophy in net with a standout campaign.

“I would tell you this, the coaching job by all of the coaches when I was here was outstanding,” Hitchcock said. “We were up against it. There were a lot of powerhouses in the division and in the conference, and a lot of teams were spending right to the cap. We had to find ways to be competitive, and I thought we became really creative here.

“The players really bought into it. I think the one thing we had was what I call sneaky character. We had a lot of character in our hockey club that until you played against us, people didn’t realize. And I think that combination of the compete levels and the character of our hockey club allowed us to be competitive. It was a good feeling.”

Nash has spoken often about how much of an impact Hitchcock had on his playing career, in particular, a tarmac meeting early in his tenure in Columbus in which the coach challenged the CBJ legend to be a complete player instead of just a great goal scorer.

That type of selfless attitude and dedication to the team became hallmarks of Hitchcock squads wherever he coached, in particular Columbus.

“He really did do a lot for this organization when you think about it,” Nash told BlueJackets.com this summer. “We didn’t have much success until Hitch got here. I think another thing is he gave this organization some credibility, too. He was a proven coach, and he came here, he loved the city, he loved the fans. He did a lot for us off the ice as well.”

It’s been almost 15 years since Hitchcock was let go during what turned into a frustrating 2009-10 season, as the Blue Jackets couldn’t quite keep the magic going after that 2009 playoff appearance. Still, over the years, Hitchcock stayed in touch with such Blue Jackets standbys as president Mike Priest and president of hockey operations John Davidson.

The Blue Jackets have had periods of contention and periods of struggles since he left, but Hitchcock said he wants to see success on the ice become permanent in Central Ohio.

“There’s 100 percent of me that wants this franchise to succeed,” Hitchcock said. “For me as a coach, this was my baby. We were on the ground floor and we needed to start building something. I thought the partnership that the coaches formed with the players was terrific, and I think we were really building a program together that I thought would be sustainable. I’m really proud of that. I really want this franchise to do well, and I really hope they do.”

As for his honor last night, Hitchcock said it just felt right to be back in Nationwide Arena in front of the CBJ fans.

“I don’t know that I deserve it,” he said. “It’s pretty special when a team does something like this for you. I really appreciate it.”