Flyers end suspense, give coach Hitchcock extension

Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock signed a new three-year contract with the Flyers through 2008-09.

"I think it's the final piece of stability we were hoping to have at the start of training camp," general manager Bob Clarke said Monday in a statement.

Hitchcock, entering his fourth season, is 130-77-39 in the regular season with Philadelphia. He led the Flyers to the conference finals in 2004, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who later won the Stanley Cup.

In 10 NHL seasons with Dallas and Philadelphia, Hitchcock is 407-243-99. He is 66-51 in playoff games and won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.