By John Kreiser - NHL.com Columnist. NIKALE PHOTOS
Calgary Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter announced Friday that coach Mike Keenan has been relieved of his duties.
Keenan, 59, became the Flames' coach on June 14, 2007, replacing Jim Playfair. In their two seasons under Keenan, the Flames went 88-60-16 and twice made the playoffs -- but were eliminated in the first round both times. Calgary finished second to Vancouver in the Northwest Division after leading the division for most of the season and was fifth in the Western Conference in 2008-09. But the Flames were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the opening round. Last spring, they fell to San Jose in seven games.
Keenan, who had one year remaining on his contract, said following the playoff loss to Chicago that he believed he would be back to finish his deal.
"I have another year left on my contract," Keenan said. "My expectation is to be here to fulfill my contract."
That didn't happen.
"Our team did not meet expectations,” Sutter said in a statement. “Following detailed evaluation over the past three weeks, and taking into consideration all factors affecting our season ending result, we believe this is a necessary change required to allow our team to continue toward our objective of winning the Stanley Cup."
The Flames have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon. The team said Keenan's assistants -- Playfair, Rich Preston, Rob Cookson and Daniel Marcoux -- "remain subject to further review and evaluation."
Calgary was Keenan's eighth stop as an NHL coach. He's won one Stanley Cup, with the New York Rangers in 1994. His 672 career victories are fourth on the all-time list.
MY COMMENT:
What are people!
It’s not too smart! I know Mike is a “Russian Style” coach hard to get along with, but he has brought this team to playoffs from NOTHING! According to their roster they had to be out of run together with Colorado and LA.
Keenan, 59, became the Flames' coach on June 14, 2007, replacing Jim Playfair. In their two seasons under Keenan, the Flames went 88-60-16 and twice made the playoffs -- but were eliminated in the first round both times. Calgary finished second to Vancouver in the Northwest Division after leading the division for most of the season and was fifth in the Western Conference in 2008-09. But the Flames were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the opening round. Last spring, they fell to San Jose in seven games.
Keenan, who had one year remaining on his contract, said following the playoff loss to Chicago that he believed he would be back to finish his deal.
"I have another year left on my contract," Keenan said. "My expectation is to be here to fulfill my contract."
That didn't happen.
"Our team did not meet expectations,” Sutter said in a statement. “Following detailed evaluation over the past three weeks, and taking into consideration all factors affecting our season ending result, we believe this is a necessary change required to allow our team to continue toward our objective of winning the Stanley Cup."
The Flames have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon. The team said Keenan's assistants -- Playfair, Rich Preston, Rob Cookson and Daniel Marcoux -- "remain subject to further review and evaluation."
Calgary was Keenan's eighth stop as an NHL coach. He's won one Stanley Cup, with the New York Rangers in 1994. His 672 career victories are fourth on the all-time list.
MY COMMENT:
What are people!
It’s not too smart! I know Mike is a “Russian Style” coach hard to get along with, but he has brought this team to playoffs from NOTHING! According to their roster they had to be out of run together with Colorado and LA.
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