Mike Keenan remains the only coach in the past 84 years to lead the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup championship. Remarkably, his tenure in New York lasted just one season, as a rocky departure followed the team’s 1993-94 title run and celebratory parade through Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes.
However, Keenan recently shared on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that he nearly returned as Rangers head coach eight years later.
According to Keenan, the Rangers reached out to him not long after he took over as head coach of the Florida Panthers on December 3, 2001. At the time, the Panthers were looking to trade star forward Pavel Bure, and during trade discussions with New York, the Rangers also attempted to bring Keenan back.
“Things got tough in Florida—attendance was low—so [Panthers owner Alan Cohen] said, ‘I gotta trade Pavel (Bure).’ Pavel was making $10 million at the time,” Keenan recalled. “My owner, Alan Cohen, would often sit in my office. So, I pick up the phone, and it’s the New York Rangers. They ask, ‘Will you come and coach us?’ Alan was right there, probably overhearing the conversation. When I hung up, he immediately said, ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ I told him, ‘Alan, you just slashed the budget in half, or more.’ But he insisted, ‘No, you’re not going.’”
That ended any chance of a reunion. While the Rangers didn’t land Keenan, they did acquire Bure on March 18, 2002. Ron Low remained behind the bench, but the team missed the playoffs, finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference with 80 points. The Panthers also failed to make the postseason, which wasn’t surprising given their budget cuts and the loss of one of the league’s top players. Keenan later took over as Florida’s general manager before leaving the organization in 2006.
After missing out on Keenan, the Rangers hired Bryan Trottier for the 2002-03 season. However, the decision backfired, as Trottier was fired after just 54 games. It was part of a difficult stretch for the franchise, which endured seven consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.
Had Keenan returned, things might have played out differently. Instead of working under GM Neil Smith, as he did in 1993-94, he would have reported to Glen Sather in 2002. But in the end, his one-season stint with the Rangers preserved his legacy as the coach who finally ended their decades-long Cup drought.
Beyond his time in New York, Keenan built an impressive coaching résumé. He ranks 15th all-time in NHL wins with 672, having led teams such as the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, and Panthers. Despite his success, he won only one Stanley Cup—a testament to both his coaching ability and the turbulent nature of his career.
Interestingly, before joining the Rangers in 1993, Keenan had a chance to reunite with the Flyers. Team owner Ed Snider, who had previously fired him, invited Keenan to breakfast and offered him a five-year contract as head coach and player personnel director.
“I told him, ‘Mr. Snider, I can’t sign that right now,’” Keenan recalled.
Snider was likely taken aback, but what happened next infuriated him.
“So, I ended up getting pursued by the New York Rangers and signed a deal, becoming the first coach to make a million dollars. And Snider never spoke to me again because he absolutely hated the Rangers,” Keenan said.
The rest is history. Keenan took a talented Rangers squad that had missed the playoffs in 1992-93, forced Smith to bring in players he trusted, and led the team to its first Stanley Cup since 1940.
However, during the Cup run, rumors surfaced that Keenan was negotiating to become head coach and GM of the St. Louis Blues. That turbulent chapter ultimately led to his departure shortly after the championship.
Despite the chaos, Rangers fans will always remember Keenan for delivering a long-awaited title—one that, as he famously said, “will last a lifetime.”