-Vintage Canuck- Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Keenan wants back in the NHL: “I still have the intellect for it, the knowledge and the passion”: It has been more than three years since Mike Keenan last served as coach of an NHL team. His up-and-down run involving eight teams over 25 years ended in 2009, when he led the Calgary Flames to their last Stanley Cup Playoff appearance. But after an eventful summer, the man known as "Iron Mike" is still hoping for another shot in the NHL. For Keenan, things picked up markedly in April, when he was announced as the new coach of the Canadian hockey team for the 2013 Maccabiah Games, an international sporting event in Israel in which thousands of Jewish athletes representing dozens of countries compete in more than 30 sports. For Keenan, whose ex-wife is Jewish and whose daughter was raised in the faith, it was a unique opportunity. "I have a real sense of the faith and the people. My mother-in-law escaped Auschwitz [concentration camp] and I went to Auschwitz in 1972 and had conversations with her after that," Keenan told NHL.com. "My involvement is deeper than hockey. That's a large reason why I wanted to get involved." With former NHL player Greg Gilbert and former New York Rangers assistant coach Mile Pelino serving as his assistants, Keenan held training camps over the summer in Montreal and Toronto. The process of assembling a roster will continue until next June, by which time Keenan will name his team for the competition, which was first staged in 1932 and will open in Jerusalem on July 18. In the midst of putting together his Maccabiah Games team, Keenan's summer suddenly took an interesting turn after he received a call from Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee regarding that club's coaching vacancy after Dale Hunter stepped down in May. Adam Oates ultimately got the job, but the long look from the Capitals renewed Keenan's hopes for another opportunity in the NHL. "I'd love to coach back in the League. You never know if the game is going to call you back or not," Keenan said. "I still have the intellect for it, the knowledge and the passion for the game." There certainly aren't many coaching resumes quite like Keenan's. The 1985 Jack Adams Award winner has won championships in junior hockey and the American Hockey League, along with his 1994 Stanley Cup with the Rangers. But Keenan, who will turn 63 in October, is older than any current NHL coach. With a third of the League's bench bosses 46 or younger, he is hoping to buck the trend toward hiring younger coaches. "[scotty] Bowman coached almost until he was 70. [Ken] Hitchcock set a good example. He's the oldest coach in the League (60) and won Coach of the Year," Keenan said. "I know if I can get back in the League I can do a superb job. Whether that will ever happen, I have no idea." http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=640326 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neufy161 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 gross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ossi Vaananen Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Keenan can scrub toilets for the NY Islanders. I'm not sure why this guy gets so much credit, he's a terrible coach and worse GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pears Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Anywhere but here. And by here I mean anywhere but North America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi Babe Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 "The intellect"? When I stop laughing and can type again, I'll finish reading his self-promotional attempt (but fail) at comedy......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboose Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Fire AV amirite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Vintage Canuck- Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 Keenan can scrub toilets for the NY Islanders. I'm not sure why this guy gets so much credit, he's a terrible coach and worse GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sedin's 6th Sense Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 gross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobble Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Right after Mike Milbury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I actually don't think he was given a fair shot in Calgary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeydews Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I dont know much about Keenan. But whats with all the hate? Wasnt he a former canuck coach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi Babe Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I dont know much about Keenan. But whats with all the hate? Wasnt he a former canuck coach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dion Phaneuf Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 All that needs to be said about his coaching pedigree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biznasty Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 All that needs to be said about his coaching pedigree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ossi Vaananen Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 TRADE FOR TREVOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I hate this guy's coaching style. Similar to Trots, except that it doesn't work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqua59 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 He thinks he can still do it in the NHL, but it's passed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GototheFlamestotheGo Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I actually don't think he was given a fair shot in Calgary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Yes, he was........hence the hate. You need to do some research into Canucks history. And Mike Keenan's track record as a coach anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cIutch Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 he wasnt all bad i mean Keenan's resignation came shortly after he dealt Florida Panthers' franchise goaltender Roberto Luongo along with defenceman Lukas Krajicek and Florida's 2006 sixth-round draft pick (Sergei Shirokov) to the Vancouver Canucks for struggling forward Todd Bertuzzi, goaltender Alex Auld, and defenceman Bryan Allen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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