Keenan must have something up his sleeve!

Ando · Guru

Keenan must have something up his sleeve!

Mad Habber · Member

I've been reading this board for a while and decided to bring my viewpoint.

I don't know what it is about this guy (Keenan). He has a history of tearing teams apart, being out for himself, and alienating his teams' best players all the time. He would be one of the last guys I would hire to GM or coach my hockey team. He was in Philly during some of their worst years, then in Chicago, which I thought were his best years, he started alienating some of his players and got himself the nickname of Captain Hook for constantly pulling his goalie. He ends up in NY, wins a cup, that was bought and paid for by combining the rosters of the Rangers and Oilers. Takes off because of a better offer in St.Louis. I think both Gretzky and Hull were pissed off at him before everyone left. Took Vancouver apart, shipping Linden out (heart and soul of franchise at that time). Finally gets another job in Florida, where he gets rid of the franchise player again, and brings in his old buddies to play. That's another thing he's done everywhere is bring in his old buddies all the time. I guess he got frustrated because he couldn't coax Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan out of retirement.

I think the only two teams left, with owners crazy enough to hire him, might just be the Leafs and Islanders (after Snow disagrees with Wang that is).

MC Girl · Guru

TSN.ca Staff

9/4/2006

On Sunday, the Florida Panthers issued a press release announcing Mike Keenan's resignation. However, sources close to the Panthers say Keenan did not resign, and given the financial implications, it seems implausible.

Keenan has three years remaining on a contract that owes him millions of dollars. It's unlikely he would walk away from that by quitting.

It's no secret his history with Panthers owner Alan Cohen has been unstable. In fact, according to one source, if the status of his departure is changed from a resignation to a termination, this would mark the third such occasion he was fired by Cohen.

Keenan was fired as Florida's head coach in 2003 before being asked to return to manage just six months later.

Sources say Cohen also decided to dismiss Keenan following the signings of veteran NHLers Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk in 2005, but cooler heads prevailed.

Don't be surprised if Keenan contacts NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, or perhaps he already has.

Normal process in the National Hockey League is straightforward. Everything funnels through the commissioner's office. So, if this dispute requires a third party, I have no doubt Bettman will weigh in on the matter.

Bettman already has a case involving an former general manager before him. Former New York Islanders GM Neil Smith hasn't been paid since early June and it's expected that his legal team will file papers with the NHL head office this week in order to orchestrate a hearing to determine the outcome in his battle for compensation.

For TSN.ca, I'm Darren Dreger.

heet_150 · Guru

Ando wrote:

And-o wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Keenan land in a big market by Christmas.

Don't forget folks...JFJ is a 'lame-duck' this year (with no contract after this season).

...too easy??? We'll see!

When I saw Sportsnet's reporting of this, when Dreggar and Kypreos were done, Kypreos said "Let the Toronto rumours begin."

MC Girl · Guru

Canadian Press

9/7/2006 6:48:04 PM

TORONTO (CP) - Despite reports to the contrary, Florida Panthers coach and GM Jacques Martin insists Mike Keenan isn't gone because of him.

"No, I don't think there was a breakdown with my relationship with Mike," Martin told The Canadian Press in an interview Thursday. "I think I've always had a good relationship with Mike. I think we worked well together. I think the organization, the ownership, for whatever reason, listened to Mike when he came to them."

"All I know is that ownership came to me, Mr. Cohen, and offered me the dual role. At that point I wasn't planning on that but when I sat back and looked at it, I said sure, it's a challenge. But I feel good about this challenge."

So why was Keenan forced to resign as GM last weekend?

"I can't answer that," said Martin. "I don't have that answer."

Keenan has kept silent since last Sunday's announcement, declining to return messages left on his Canadian cellphone. His Florida cellphone has been disconnected.

Martin hasn't spoken with Keenan this week but feels confident they will one day.

"Definitely, I don't have an issue at all," said Martin.

Martin, in town for a weekend rookie tournament featuring the Panthers, Maple Leafs and Canadiens, refuted other theories including one that Martin and Keenan clashed on player moves.

"No, that's not the case," Martin said. "I think from Day 1, Mike and I communicated and consulted on player movement. I don't think that was an issue."

Another theory, one backed up by several sources around the league, is that Keenan tried to fire Martin last season after a dismal start but was blocked my owner Alan Cohen.

"Those things, I can't control the rumours that are out there," said Martin. "All I know is that I worked closely with Mike. When you look at the personnel that we have, Mike was responsible but I felt that I had a good voice. I felt very comfortable in the personnel that we have on our hockey club."

Yet another apparent point of dissent was the handling of the Roberto Luongo situation. Some reports suggested Martin was upset that Keenan wasn't able to re-sign the star goaltender and ultimately had to trade him away.

Martin, in fact, got personally involved in the last 24 hours before the trade, trying to get Luongo to sign a long-term deal. When he too failed, Keenan's deal with Vancouver was given the green light by Martin and the rest of the Panthers organization.

"I don't like to go back on that story but all I have to say is that I think I had a good relationship with Roberto and that's why I got involved at the end," said Martin. "There were a lot of issues throughout that process. And in the end we made a decision which was to trade him."

When Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter stepped down as coach earlier this summer, he admitted that having the dual role last season affected his ability to coach. Martin understands people around the league may wonder whether he can handle both jobs, especially since he's never been a GM before.

"There's no doubt that's a big challenge," said Martin. "But I have to rely on the people we have in the organization."

Martin said he needs to evaluate his front-office staff and give them more responsibility. That covers director of hockey operations Jack Birch, director of scouting Scott Luce, director of hockey administration Matt Loughran, director of player development Duane Sutter and pro scout Phil Myre, among others.

"I guess how I see my dual role is as coach in the morning a day after a game, and then in the afternoon spend my time more with the GM's responsibilities," Martin cited as an example of how things might run.

But he's on the lookout for a right-hand man, whether hiring from within or outside, a format similar to the dual role Pat Quinn had in Toronto with Bill Watters as his right-hand guy.

-- Edited by MC Girl at 05:41, 2006-09-08