Keenan This NHL Season's First Sacrificial Coach

The long-rumored feud between Florida Panthers' coach Mike Keenan and GM Rick Dudley came to a head last night, following the team's 2-0 loss to St. Louis.

Keenan was fired following the game. Dudley installed himself as interim head coach and made the announcement at a media briefing this afternoon.

That someone in Florida had to go comes as no surprise - Keenan and Dudley were said to be barely on speaking terms. But the timing is curious. Considering they have the youngest roster in the NHL, the Panthers are off to a decent start this season. Their 5-8-2 record includes wins over New Jersey, Ottawa and Atlanta. Goaltender Roberto Luongo, the lynchpin of the franchise, has had a couple of rough games. But his 2.29 goals-against average and .932 save percentage are an improvement on his numbers from last year.

Keenan, always known for challenging his best players and giving them loads of ice time, took a similar approach with the young talent in Florida. Some Panthers, like Luongo and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, responded well to that approach. Others, like forwards Stephen Weiss and Niklas Hagman, seemed to falter.

The broad range of responses to the Keenan Method is evident in the way Panthers' players reacted to news of the coaching change, as reported by the Florida Sun-Sentinal. If not for Keenan's guidance, "I would be back in Europe," says forward Oli Jokinen. A teammate is less complimentary, suggesting Keenan "didn't treat people with respect."

The conflict between Dudley and Keenan likely revolved around the treatment and development of such young players. For a team in the midst of a lengthy rebuilding period, those differences were obviously too much to over come.