Keenan Fired / Holik Retires

In the wake of the Stanley Cup Conference Finals, where normally the league requests no big incidents to occur to maintain attention on the playoffs, comes the announcement of both the firing of Calgary Flames head coach Mike Keenan, and the retirement of Bobby Holik. Official news came Friday night of both incidents and to many it is no surprise.

Bobby Holik spent 18 seasons in the NHL. The native of Jihlava, Czech Republic spent the majority of his career in New Jersey, while playing a few seasons for the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Rangers. He is known for being a fantastic two way player, and he has won 2 Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils (1995, 2000). He posted career totals of 326 goals and 747 points in 1314 games. He returned to the Devils franchise this season to retire where he began his career.

Mike Keenan has suffered a disappointing post-season, mostly due to injuries and weak goaltending, and has faced the consequences. It is believed many of the younger players on the club are not too fond of his coaching methods and have requested for a more respectable coach for the position. This was his second straight first round exit in the post-season and the Flames have officially decided to go in a new direction. This past February, he passed Pat Quinn for 4th all-time in wins as a head coach in the league.

The 60 year old, Bowmanville, Ontario coach is not expected to be on the sidelines of the league for very long. Any team looking for that edge to shake up the organization will surely take a crack at "Iron Mike".

Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com