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Iron Mike

My Life Behind the Bench

The must-read autobiography of one of the NHL's most controversial and successful coaches, winner of the 1994 Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers.

In the fraternity of NHL coaches, some stand out for their winning records, some for their big personalities and some for their unprecedented methods. Mike Keenan stands out on all counts, and more.
    Breaking into the NHL as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984, Keenan got instant results. The Flyers hadn't won a playoff round in three seasons; he led them to the Cup Final in his first year. In 1987, he coached a fractious Team Canada to victory in the Canada Cup using a strategy few of his peers had to master: if your team doesn't get along, give them somebody to hate, together. Keenan instilled unity in his teams by making sure they all wanted to show him up. The wins took care of themselves.
    Keenan's teams won at every level. With championships in the OHL and AHL, it seemed only a matter of time before his resume would include the ultimate prize, and in typical Mike Keenan fashion he would win it on the grandest of stages. The NHL's most valuable franchise, the New York Rangers, hadn't won a Cup in 54 years. At the time, it was the league's longest championship drought. But with five-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Messier now captain of a star-studded Rangers lineup, there was only one thing missing for a championship run on Broadway: a coach who could focus all the talent and desire on victory. After a season of controversy and clashing egos, many of them involving the team's bedevilling new coach, in 1994 the Stanley Cup finally returned to Madison Square Garden, considered by many to be the greatest Cup win by a US-based NHL team.
    In the hands of veteran journalist and bestselling author Scott Morrison, Iron Mike takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most explosive runs to the Cup in NHL history, one that has never been told like Keenan at long last shares in this book. Fans also get their long-awaited chance to understand what one of hockey's greatest and most confounding coaches was up to. There is only one Iron Mike in hockey, and love him or hate him, his memoir is a must-read for any fan of the game.
© Courtesy of the author
MIKE KEENAN is one of the most successful coaches ever. He began his hockey coaching career at Forest Hill Collegiate in Toronto, and his star ascended rapidly. He won an Ontario championship in junior with Peterborough, a Canadian university championship with the University of Toronto, and a Calder Cup in the AHL with Rochester. In the NHL, he took Philadelphia (twice) and Chicago to the Stanley Cup final before he led the New York Rangers to the title. Along the way, he led Team Canada to two Canada Cup victories, and later in his career won a Kontinental Hockey League championship in Magnitogorsk, Russia. He is still coaching today, with the Italian national team. Mike Keenan coached some of the greatest stars in hockey and is remembered as one of the game’s most colourful personalities. View titles by Mike Keenan
© Courtesy of the author
SCOTT MORRISON has provided cogent and colourful hockey analysis since his start in 1979, covering the Maple Leafs and the NHL for the Toronto Sun. He has reported and provided analysis for Sportsnet, Hockey Night in Canada, and CBC Television and Radio, while making regular appearances across the sports-radio dial. He has twice served as president of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and has written numerous books, including the number-one bestseller 1972: The Series That Changed Hockey Forever and, most recently, the bestseller Draft Day: How Hockey Teams Pick Winners or Get Left Behind (with Doug MacLean). In 2006, he received the Hockey Hall of Fame Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award. He lives in Toronto with his son, Mark. View titles by Scott Morrison

About

The must-read autobiography of one of the NHL's most controversial and successful coaches, winner of the 1994 Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers.

In the fraternity of NHL coaches, some stand out for their winning records, some for their big personalities and some for their unprecedented methods. Mike Keenan stands out on all counts, and more.
    Breaking into the NHL as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984, Keenan got instant results. The Flyers hadn't won a playoff round in three seasons; he led them to the Cup Final in his first year. In 1987, he coached a fractious Team Canada to victory in the Canada Cup using a strategy few of his peers had to master: if your team doesn't get along, give them somebody to hate, together. Keenan instilled unity in his teams by making sure they all wanted to show him up. The wins took care of themselves.
    Keenan's teams won at every level. With championships in the OHL and AHL, it seemed only a matter of time before his resume would include the ultimate prize, and in typical Mike Keenan fashion he would win it on the grandest of stages. The NHL's most valuable franchise, the New York Rangers, hadn't won a Cup in 54 years. At the time, it was the league's longest championship drought. But with five-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Messier now captain of a star-studded Rangers lineup, there was only one thing missing for a championship run on Broadway: a coach who could focus all the talent and desire on victory. After a season of controversy and clashing egos, many of them involving the team's bedevilling new coach, in 1994 the Stanley Cup finally returned to Madison Square Garden, considered by many to be the greatest Cup win by a US-based NHL team.
    In the hands of veteran journalist and bestselling author Scott Morrison, Iron Mike takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most explosive runs to the Cup in NHL history, one that has never been told like Keenan at long last shares in this book. Fans also get their long-awaited chance to understand what one of hockey's greatest and most confounding coaches was up to. There is only one Iron Mike in hockey, and love him or hate him, his memoir is a must-read for any fan of the game.

Author

© Courtesy of the author
MIKE KEENAN is one of the most successful coaches ever. He began his hockey coaching career at Forest Hill Collegiate in Toronto, and his star ascended rapidly. He won an Ontario championship in junior with Peterborough, a Canadian university championship with the University of Toronto, and a Calder Cup in the AHL with Rochester. In the NHL, he took Philadelphia (twice) and Chicago to the Stanley Cup final before he led the New York Rangers to the title. Along the way, he led Team Canada to two Canada Cup victories, and later in his career won a Kontinental Hockey League championship in Magnitogorsk, Russia. He is still coaching today, with the Italian national team. Mike Keenan coached some of the greatest stars in hockey and is remembered as one of the game’s most colourful personalities. View titles by Mike Keenan
© Courtesy of the author
SCOTT MORRISON has provided cogent and colourful hockey analysis since his start in 1979, covering the Maple Leafs and the NHL for the Toronto Sun. He has reported and provided analysis for Sportsnet, Hockey Night in Canada, and CBC Television and Radio, while making regular appearances across the sports-radio dial. He has twice served as president of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and has written numerous books, including the number-one bestseller 1972: The Series That Changed Hockey Forever and, most recently, the bestseller Draft Day: How Hockey Teams Pick Winners or Get Left Behind (with Doug MacLean). In 2006, he received the Hockey Hall of Fame Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award. He lives in Toronto with his son, Mark. View titles by Scott Morrison