Mike Keenan can be main the Italian men’s national hockey crew as head coach, the Italian Ice Sports Federation introduced Tuesday.
Keenan, 72, coached eight groups within the NHL over 25 years from 1984 to 2009.
Italy, which didn’t compete within the 2022 Beijing Games, is about to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Host international locations get computerized entries into Olympic competitors for hockey.
Keenan gained the Jack Adams Award in his first 12 months as a head coach with the Philadelphia Flyers and led the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup title in 1994. The Bowmanville, Ont., native additionally led the Canadian men’s crew to Canada Cup victories in 1987 and 1991.
Following his final NHL stint with the Calgary Flames from 2007-08 to 2008-09, Keenan moved on to broadcasting earlier than opting to coach in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League in 2013-14. He led Magnitogorsk Metallurg to a Gagarin Cup victory in his first of three seasons with the crew.
Keenan final coached Kunlun Red Star of the KHL in 2017-2018.