Pittsburgh Penguins: Five Coaching Candidates To Replace Mike Johnston
Mike Keenan
Mike Keenan, a.k.a. “Iron Mike”, has had a plethora of coaching jobs in the NHL. He worked most recently in the KHL with Evgeni Malkin‘s former team Metallurg Magnitogorsk. There he became the first coach to win both the NHL’s Stanley Cup Championship (1994) and the KHL’s Gagarin Cup (2014) before being fired at the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
His NHL jobs include head coaching stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames.
Pros
Keenan has been an incredibly successful head coach. He went to the playoffs all four years he was in charge of the Philadelphia Flyers, his first head coaching job, including winning two conference championships.
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His success continued in his four year stop with the Chicago Blackhawks where he again went to the playoffs every year, went to the conference finals three times and made it to a Stanley Cup. Keenan then went to the New York Rangers and in his first and only season won the 1994 Stanley Cup.
Cons
Despite his great success in the league, Keenan tends to wear out his welcome very quickly. He has had multiple disagreements with management. The most notable incident occurred when he resigned from the Rangers just weeks after winning the Stanley Cup, citing a breach of his contract.
Additionally, his success soon evaporated after his time with the Rangers and in his various NHL jobs between 1995 and 2009 he made only four more playoff appearances.
Overall Impression
Keenan has been highly successful almost everywhere he has coached. While he may rub many people the wrong way, it may not matter in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins are built to win now, so if Keenan wins soon but is fired only a few years down the road it won’t be an issue. It may be worth the Penguins while to give him a shot.
Next: Bruce Boudreau