July 15 was the biggest day of head coaching changes in the history of the National Hockey League. Two very successful coaches made decisions on this day, one making a surprise exit and the other starting a decade of success. Time for our daily trip through the decades to relive all the top moments from this date.
Keenan Goes
On July 15, 1994, Mike Keenan resigned as head coach of the New York Rangers. The dramatic move came 31 days after he led them to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years.
Keenan only coached one season with the Rangers before he retired. It was no secret that he and general manager Neil Smith were at odds. He held his own press conference in Toronto to announce his decision, citing a breach of contract as his reason, though he did not elaborate on what that might be.
Two days later, Keenan was hired as the head coach and general manager of the St. Louis Blues. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman wanted the Blues to send forward Esa Tikkanen and defenseman Doug Lidster, to the Rangers, forward Petr Nedved to continue Keenan’s employment.
Babcock Comes to the Motor City
The Detroit Red Wings made a major coaching change on July 15, 2005, hiring Mike Babcock. He replaced Dave Lewis, who had won the Central Division title the previous two seasons. However, his failure to make it past the second round of the playoffs ended up costing him his job. Some of Lewis’ early season outings included a loss to Babcock’s Anaheim Ducks in the first round in 2003.
Babcock took the Ducks to Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. After the NHL lockout ended the 2004-05 season, he turned down an offer to return to the Ducks. The Red Wings jumped and signed Babcock.
The Red Wings enjoyed 10 successful seasons under Babcock’s leadership, going 458-223-105. They qualified for the postseason in all 10 seasons and won the President’s Trophy for having the most points in the league twice. In his third season, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. They returned to the finals the following spring but lost in a rematch against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Babcock’s 458 wins are the most in franchise history, ahead of legendary coaches such as Jack Adams, Scotty Bowman, and Sid Abel.
Other Training Steps
Eddie Johnston became the seventh head coach in Penguins history on July 15, 1980, replacing John Wilson. This was his first of two games as head coach in Pittsburgh. He qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his first two seasons before being let go after 18 wins in the 1982-83 season. He returned ten years later, in 1993, to take over from Bowman, who left Detroit.
On July 15, 1997, Marc Crawford was named head coach of Canada’s 1998 Olympic team for the games to be held in Nagano, Japan. Crawford led the Colorado Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup championship. Canada ended the tournament on a hard note after going undefeated in the group stage and returning home without any medals. They lost in the semi-finals against Czechia before losing to Finland for the bronze medal.
Odds & Ends
The Boston Bruins and Red Wings traded veteran goaltenders on July 15, 1980. Gilles Gilbert moved from Boston to Detroit for two-time Stanley Cup winner and future Hockey Hall of Famer, Rogie Vachon. Both netizens were at the end of their careers and primarily served as backups behind this trade. Gilbert won 21 games in three seasons with the Red Wings, while Vachon played two seasons with the Bruins, winning 30 games.
On July 15, 1998, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed veteran free agent Curtis Joseph. He had great success in four seasons in Toronto. Joseph won 35 games in his first season and followed that up with 36 wins in the 1999-00 season. He helped lead the team to the 2002 Eastern Conference Final. However, the Maple Leafs signed Ed Belfour that summer, so Joseph moved on to the Red Wings.
The Phoenix Coyotes named Teppo Numminen the new team captain on July 15, 2001. He was 12th player to wear the “C” on his jersey in franchise history. He took over from Keith Tkachuk, who was traded to the Blues in the 2000-01 season. Numminen was the captain of the Coyotes for two seasons until he was traded to the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2003.
Bettman holds a press conference over the dugout at Fenway Park on July 15, 2009. He announced that the Bruins will host the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic next New Year’s Day. This was the third installment of the Winter Classic and the second year in a row that the game was played at the famous baseball stadium. The Chicago Blackhawks and Wrigley Field hosted the 2009 edition. The Bruins won the game thanks to Marco Sturm’s overtime goal.
happy Birthday to you
A talented group of 22 current and former NHL players born on this day. The most prominent boys born on July 15 are Rick Kehoe (73), Barry Melrose (68), Steve Thomas (61), Eric Lacroix (53), Jonathan Cheechoo (44), Adam Cracknell (39), Tyler Kennedy (38), Zach Bogosian (34), Anthony Bitetto (34) Anthony Cirelli (27), and the late Ed Litzenberger.
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
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