Iron Mike and Stoic Jacques Take Over in Miami

As expected, Mike Keenan has been named general manager of the Florida Panthers. Jacques Martin becomes the team's fourth head coach in less than seven months. Will this finally bring stability to the franchise and its youthful roster? With Keenan in charge, all bets are off.

Keenan returns to the team that fired him as coach in November, replacing the man who showed him the door, Rick Dudley. Dudley was fired on Monday.

Keenan has coached seven NHL teams, taking three of them to the Stanley Cup Final: Philadelphia in 1985 and 1987, Chicago in 1992 and the New York Rangers in 1994. He won his only Cup with the Rangers.

In Chicago, St. Louis and Vancouver he also served as general manager. Keenan was not afriad to make major trades, often involving a team's most popular players. With the Blackhawks, he shipped Denis Savard to Montreal for Chris Chelios. In St. Louis, he traded Brendan Shanahan to Hartford for Chris Pronger. In Vancouver, he acquired Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe from the New York Islanders for Trevor Linden.

From 1996 until the end of this season, Martin was coach of the Ottawa Senators, building a legacy of regular season success and playoff disappointment. He was fired in April, after Ottawa was eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fourth time in five years.

Keenan and Martin were team mates at St. Lawrence University in the 1970s, and have worked together since. Martin was a scout for Keenan in junior hockey and one of his assistant coaches with the Blackhawks.

For more details on the story, check the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.