Coaching Career
His first coaching job was at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Ontario, where he coached the varsity hockey team. In 1977 he became the coach of the Oshawa Legionaires of the Metro Junior B Hockey League, where he led them to back-to-back championships in 1979 and 1980. The following year he began his junior coaching career with the Peterborough Petes before moving on to the Rochester Americans, which he guided to the American Hockey League championship in 1983. He returned to University of Toronto to lead it to the CIAU title. He then landed his first high-profile job with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984, then the Chicago Blackhawks in 1988. In 1993, he took the job as New York Rangers head coach, and led the franchise to its first Stanley Cup win since 1940. Prior to the 1993 season, he was also a candidate for the Detroit Red Wings head coaching job that eventually went to Scotty Bowman.
The 1994 season saw Keenan become the first to coach two different teams to a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final, having previously coached the Flyers in a losing effort against the Edmonton Oilers in 1987. He was followed in this feat in 2009 by Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings. In winning the 1994 Cup final, Keenan managed to avoid becoming the first coach in NHL history to lose a Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams (the fate which would befall Babcock in losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.).
After leaving the Rangers Keenan went on to serve as coach and general manager of the St. Louis Blues (1994–96), and coached the Vancouver Canucks (1997–98), and the Boston Bruins (2000–01). He was named head coach of the Panthers on December 3, 2001, before becoming its GM. On September 3, 2006, Keenan resigned his position and was replaced by head coach Jacques Martin.
On April 24, 2007 Keenan would take his next role as Senior Advisor to the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. This role would not last long as he was named head coach of the Calgary Flames on June 14, 2007. Keenan would go on to pass Patrick Quinn for 4th on the all time NHL coach win list (648 wins) on February 12, 2009.
Currently, he is 5th all time in National Hockey League wins. Keenan's teams never missed the playoffs until 1998. His tough coaching style and attitude towards his players have earned him the nickname "Iron Mike".
On May 22, 2009, after two consecutive first round playoff losses, Keenan was fired as Head Coach of the Calgary Flames, he had one year left on his contract. He recorded his 600th win as an NHL coach with the Flames.
On Thursday, October 1, 2009, MSG Network announced Keenan would join the Rangers broadcast team on MSG Network of Sam Rosen, Joe Micheletti, Al Trautwig, John Giannone, Dave Maloney, Ron Duguay as a regular guest analyst for pre-game, intermission and post-game reports on the network. He's also an analyst on MSG Hockey Night Live with Trautwig, Duguay, Maloney, Ken Daneyko, and Butch Goring.
Derek Keenan, the head coach/GM of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League, is Keenan's second cousin.
Read more about this topic: Mike Keenan
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