Keenan Out, Crawford In

Another Sunday, another major shakeup for the Vancouver Canucks.

Last Sunday, the team pulled the trigger on the deal that sent away its most popular player ever, holdout right wing Pavel Bure. At a news conference yesterday, the Canucks announced that coach Mike Keenan has been fired and replaced by Marc Crawford.

"I thought Mike did a good job early," Canucks general manager Brian Burke said. "We beat Calgary back-to-back before the Christmas break, however after the break it was an unmitigated disaster. What accelerated my thinking was Mike Keenan's heart didn't seem to be in coaching this hockey club. In fact at times he seemed indifferent behind the bench. I felt we couldn't wait any longer and we met after the St. Louis game on the 4th for 2 1/2 hours. The next game we played quite well against Dallas, however the New York Islanders' decision on January 21(when Mike Milbury resigned as the Islanders' coach) sped up the process as we felt we would be unlikely to get a second chance to get Marc."

Crawford, who guided the Colorado Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup, signed a contract for the remainder of this season and the next three campaigns. Burke would not comment when asked if the total package matched a reported $4.4 million.

The Canucks will give Colorado a second-round draft choice and $200,000 compensation for the signing as part of Crawford's exit settlement with the Avalanche. He left in a disagreement after last season and would have been a coaching "free agent" without compensation had he waited until the offseason to take a job.

Crawford explained that the main reason for him closing the door on what would likely be a number of excellent offers in the offseason was because Vancouver presented "a good fit for myself and my family and also the Vancouver Canucks."

"I feel the Canucks have a great mix of youthful enthusiasm and veteran leadership," he said. "This is one of the best cities in the world and I look forward to living here and raiing my children here. I believe I can help this team get to where it wants to go. I look forward to forging a relationship with the players and staff so we can take our steps to the future."

Crawford's gain is Keenan's loss. Keenan again could not find the magic that helped him break the New York Rangers' 54-year Stanley Cup drought in the 1993-94 season. He has now failed in St. Louis and Vancouver after taking the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers, his first two NHL coaching stops, to the Stanley Cup Finals.

"I feel for Mike. Anytime someone gets fired, it's tough," Canucks left wing Markus Naslund said on CBC between the first and second periods of today's All-Star Game. "I think he's done a good job for us and now we got a new coach and now we can see what Marc is like ... I've heard a lot of good things about him, so it will be interesting."

Unlike his stay in st. louis , Keenan was not in charge of personnel in Vancouver. Burke, the NHL's former dean of discipline, was named general manager over the summer.

"The organization could not afford not to make a change once they saw things going south," Burke said. "All I want from my coaches is to win -- relationships can be put aside. When I was in Hartford I didn't have the greatest relationship with the coach there, however, we were successful."

Crawford won division titles in all four years with Colorado and was just 35 when he guided the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup championship. His tenure in Denver ended on a sour note last season when the Avalanche squandered a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference quarterfinals and lost to the Edmonton Oilers.

Mike Keenan's last month as Canucks coach was an 'unmitigated disaster.' (Allsport)

said. "I was told by a friend to enjoy the moment, as there are only 27 such jobs, and not to be so anxious."

He has a career coaching record of 165-88-41 and was 31-21 in the playoffs.

Crawford added there will be no problem with Vancouver superstar Mark Messier, whom he left off the 1998 Canadian Olympic team. The head-strong Messier and Keenan ran the show with the Rangers.

"I think that the worry that Marc is just a Mike Keenan guy is unfounded," Crawford said. "There are 26 other coaches that would love to have Mark on their team, as he has a vast amount of knowledge of what it takes to win. I look forward to working with Mark and I don't forsee problems with Mess."

Crawford, 37, played all 176 games of his playing career with the Canucks and registered 1goals and 31 assists.

"My first year here was in 1982, when as a 20-year-old rookie we made a magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals," he said. "I remember as a 20-year-old driving by the rink with my roommate, Gary Lutel, and watching fights break out for playoff tickets."

He also cited being in Canada as a reason for jumping back into coaching in the NHL.

"There's something special about being in a Canadian city when success is happening," he said. "Passion is our advantage as Canadians, I look forward to experiencing it."

Before Burke vacated his executive post with the league, Keenan was in charge with the Canucks, taking over for general manager Pat Quinn exactly one year ago, two months after assuming coaching duties.

Burke may have grown tired of Keenan's abrasive yet preferential treatment of players. According to the Vancouver Sun, Keenan scheduled a team practice for Friday but allowed Messier to spend the break in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

In addition, the Sun also said the following complaints and questions have been raised: young players learned more under previous coach Tom Renney; Keenan does not practice special teams; knowledgeable assistant coaches Stan Smyl and Glen Hanlon are taken for granted; and Messier and often-invisible star winger Alexander Mogilny are overused.

The same problems apparently are not in store for Crawford.

"It became evident right away that I was comfortable with Brian Burke," Crawford said. "I felt that was important, as we've had a close relationship in the past."

Burke said: "I was involved in getting Marc his first job in hockey, as an assistant with Fredericton in 1987-88. He has had considerable success as a coach from the beginning."

The star treatment did not bother second-year defenseman Mattias Ohlund, another All-Star interviewed by CBC between the second and third periods.

"First of all, it's kind of depressing," Ohlund said. "But I think the guys did what they think is best for the team. As a player, you can't be too concerned with who's coaching, just go out there every game and do your best."

The Canucks have been one of the worst teams in the league all season, ranking 11th in the Western Conference with 36 points.

In Keenan's defense, the Canucks suffered several injuries this season with Mogilny, linemate Todd Bertuzzi and defenseman Bryan McCabe missing a total of 63 games. Bure also held out the entire season until being shipped to Florida.

Keenan seemed to have turned around the worst team in the conference as the Canucks started 8-6-1, but they have since gone 7-18-5 with several players he acquired.

"I made plans to meet with Mark in Tampa on Thursday and after meeting with Marc and his lawyers we reached agreement at 8 p.m. on Saturday night," Burke said. "Immediately afterward I called owership and informed them of what had just taken place and I then called Mike Keenan. "

"However, I did not inform Mike of our decision at this moment, I just told him I needed to meet with him the next day. I thought he deserved to hear it face-to-face, that's why we waited until today. I apologized to Mike for the delay earlier today and I'm once again apologizing right now."

In five months as GM, Keenan overhauled nearly one-third of the roster, dealing long-time captain Trevor Linden in one of 10 different moves.

His stay in Vancouver was far less tumultous than his past. During his stormy tenure with the Blues from 1994-96, Keenan pulled off 28 trades, dealing away popular players like Craig Janney, Brendan Shanahan, Curtis Joseph, Steve Duchesne, Dale Hawerchuk and Shayne Corson.

In February 1996, he sent three prospects and two draft choices to the Los Angeles Kings for Wayne Gretzky -- the league's all-time leading scorer. Gretzky could not agree on a new contract and jumped to the New York Rangers as a free agent following the season.

Keenan's administrative antics often detract from his success as coach. He was just 36-54-18 with the Canucks and fifth all-time in regular-season wins. He is 506-373-117 in 15 years with Vancouver, New York, St. Louis, Chicago and Philadelphia.

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