"This season has been very disappointing for the Blue Jackets organization and our fans and the responsibility for that rests with all of us from management to the coaches and players," general manager Scott Howson said in a statement. "Hitch worked tirelessly to build an identity for this team that was missing before he arrived and deserves a great deal of credit for those efforts. He earned and received the opportunity to turn things around this season, but unfortunately that has not happened and it has become apparent that change is in the best interest of our organization. Claude Noel is a good hockey coach with a proven track record in the American Hockey League. He knows our team and is deserving of this opportunity."

The Blue Jackets lost 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night and fell to 22-27-9, 14th in the Western Conference standings.

Hitchcock, who was named an assistant coach for the Canadian Olympic team that will begin play in two weeks in Vancouver, became the Blue Jackets' fourth head coach on Nov. 22, 2006. The 58-year-old guided Columbus to a 125-123-36 record in his three-plus seasons as head coach. He has compiled a 492-341-126 record in 959 regular season games with the Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars during his NHL coaching career. He became the 20th coach in NHL history to coach in 900 or more games on Apr. 5, 2008 at St. Louis.

"Ken Hitchcock joined the Blue Jackets at a time when our team needed credibility, stability and structure, which is exactly what he provided and for that we are extremely grateful," Blue Jackets president Mike Priest said in a statement. "He embraced our community and provided leadership and confidence to our organization and our fans and we are thankful for all he has done."

Hitchcock spent parts of five seasons in Dallas, compiling a 277-166-60 regular season record and 47-33 playoff mark. He led the Stars to five Central Division titles, two President’s Trophies (1997-98, 1998-99) and two Western Conference championships (1999, 2000) in addition to the 1999 Stanley Cup. He holds Stars franchise records for wins (277), playoff wins (47), playoff winning percentage (.588) and in 1998-99 led the club to franchise single-season records for wins, points and highest winning percentage with a 51-19-12 mark and 114 points (.695). He was nominated for the Jack Adams Award three times (1997, 1998, 1999) and served as the Western Conference's head coach in three All-Star Games (1997, 1998, 1999).

On May 14, 2002, he was named the Flyers' head coach and led the club to a 131-83-40 record and a 19-18 mark in the playoffs. Philadelphia posted three-straight 100-point seasons from 2002-06, captured the Atlantic Division title in 2003-04 and advanced to the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. On Mar. 21, 2006, Hitchcock guided the Flyers to a 2-1 win over New Jersey, becoming the fifth-fastest coach in NHL history to record 400 wins (736 games). He also served as an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference in the 2003 and 2004 All-Star Games.

Hitchcock has also represented Canada at numerous international competitions. He was named head coach of Team Canada for the 2008 World Championships and led the squad to the silver medal. He also served as an associate coach for Team Canada at the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games, winning the gold medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. He helped Team Canada win the World Cup of Hockey Tournament in 2004 as an associate coach and was an assistant on gold medal-winning squads at the 2002 World Championships and the 1987 World Junior Championships.

Noel, 54, joined the Blue Jackets as an assistant coach on June 28, 2007 after spending four seasons as the head coach of the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals. During that time, he led the club to a 183-94-12-31 regular season record, three 100-point seasons and two West Division titles. He also compiled a 33-21 record in the Calder Cup Playoffs, including two appearances in the Finals (2004, 2006). During the 2003-04 season, the club compiled a 46-24-7-3 record and went 16-6 in the playoffs en route to capturing the organization's first Calder Cup championship. That year, Noel was named the AHL's Coach of the Year.

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