As a youth, Hatcher played in the 1985 and 1986 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Detroit Compuwareminor ice hockey team. Hatcher was known as a physical defenseman and a strong bodychecker and used his intimidating size to good effect. He was drafted in the 1st round as the 8th overall selection by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and scored in his NHL debut game on October 12, 1991. Hatcher played for the North Stars and went with them when they moved to Dallas in 1993. He played another 10 years for the Dallas Stars, collecting 71 goals, 223 assists, 1,380 penalty minutes, and captained the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999. In doing so, he became the first American-born captain to win the Stanley Cup. In July2003, Hatcher signed with the Detroit Red Wings for a five-year, $30 million contract. A knee injury in just the third game of the season forced Hatcher to miss most of the year, playing in just 15 regular season games with the Red Wings. In 2004, due to the cancellation of the NHL season, Hatcher, along with fellow Detroit Red Wings teammates Chris Chelios and Kris Draper, decided to play minor league hockey with the Motor City Mechanics based out of Fraser, Michigan. On August 2, 2005, Hatcher signed with the Philadelphia Flyers after his contract with Detroit was bought out due to the new salary cap. On January 29, 2006, Hatcher was named interim captain of the Flyers. He served as captain for the rest of the 2005–06 season due to the absence of injured captain Keith Primeau. Hatcher has also served as an alternate captain for the Flyers. Suffering from a right knee injury, he missed the entire 2008–09 NHL season. Hatcher later returned as a "co-coach" for the playoffs. After having replacement surgery on the same knee on June 1, 2009, Hatcher said that he would most likely not return to playing hockey. On June 15, 2009, Hatcher formally announced his retirement from the National Hockey League, this was announced with the Dallas Stars. He will remain in the Flyers organization as a player development coach, taking a job vacated by another former Flyer defenseman and captain, Éric Desjardins, who resigned to pursue business interests. Hatcher remains the longest-serving captain in the history of the Dallas Stars and their predecessors, the Minnesota North Stars.
A native Michigander, Hatcher continues to live in the state today. He and his brother Kevin Hatcher, also a former NHL player, previously owned a bar/restaurant in Utica, Michigan. In 2015, Hatcher, along with David Legwand, purchased the OHL's Sarnia Sting. Hatcher serves as head coach of the team, with Legwand as an assistant coach.
