Keenan: The High Times and Misadventures of Hockey's Most Controversial Coach

Janet Money is a writer and policy analyst for the Canadian Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation in Toronto.

Mike Keenan’s stock-in-trade through his many years of coaching in the
National Hockey League has been motivation through intimidation. His
reputation for nastiness has been built on temper tantrums, “death
skates,” and clashes with players, team management, and the media.

Who’d want to read about somebody like that? The answer is, NHL
hockey fans. They’ll want to gain some insight into a man who guided
the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 40 years, and then
quit in a huff because a bonus cheque arrived late; a man who couldn’t
get along with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Denis Savard.

Both in Philadelphia and Chicago (and later in New York, St. Louis, and
Vancouver), Keenan transformed complacent teams into contenders through
an uncompromising work ethic and hard-nosed attitude. But the act wore
thin in time; players refused to take it anymore, management got
disgusted, and Keenan was fired.

Keenan is a no-holds-barred look at a career coach whose dedication to
the craft cost him his marriage and left him with few friends. As pro
hockey biographies go, this one’s captivating.