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Ken Hitchcock passed Pat Quinn for fifth all-time in coaching wins

Ken Hitchcock

St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock yells from the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013, in St. Louis. The Blues won 6-1. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

AP

When his St. Louis Blues blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on Saturday, Ken Hitchcock passed Pat Quinn for fifth all-time in wins for an NHL head coach with 685.

While shootout victories likely helped to some extent, it’s worth noting that Hitchcock reached this mark in 1,285 games while Quinn hit 684 wins in 1,400. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Hitchcock should finish the 2014-15 season in fourth place all-time, as Dick Irvin sits at 692 wins in 1,449 games.

Here’s the top five, via Hockey Reference:

1. Scotty Bowman - 1,244
2. Al Arbour - 782
3. Joel Quenneville - 734
4. Dick Irvin - 692
5. Ken Hitchcock - 685

As far as other active head coaches with a lot of wins (beyond Coach Q in Chicago, who isn’t that far off from second place), Lindy Ruff has 631 wins, Barry Trotz has 581 and these guys round out the top 30:

16. Darryl Sutter - 527
17. Mike Babcock - 509
18. Paul Maurice - 502
23. Alain Vigneault - 492
24. Dave Tippett - 480
26. Claude Julien: 453
29. Peter Laviolette - 419

Could be interesting to see where some of those coaches end up down the line.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins