IRON MIKE: MY LIFE BEHIND THE BENCH is the memoir of professional hockey coach Mike Keenan.

I came of age as a hockey fan in the mid-90s, right around the time Keenan was winning his first - and only - Stanley Cup as head coach of the New York Rangers. Despite multiple trips to the finals with both Philadelphia and Chicago in the years prior to his run with the Blueshirts, my knowledge was limited to those post-Rangers years where Keenan seemed to be hired and fired at the drop of a hat. Turns out there was a lot I didn’t know.

Keenan writes about his incredible success in bringing both the Flyers and the Blackhawks from the bottom of the league standings to the top of the mountain, achievements that would make him desirable for years to come. While working as an NHL bench boss, Keenan was twice-tapped to run our national team for the Canada Cup in both 1987 and 1991 creating a work-load that would likely be unmanageable for many. However, it is his work with the Rangers in the 1993-1994 season that shines through as his proudest achievement. Keenan built a powerhouse team through hard-nosed coaching and brilliant roster moves that better prepared an already first placed team at the trade deadline for the drudgery of the postseason. The madness that followed surrounding breaches of contract, media attention and league bickering may have slightly stained the memory of his time in New York, but it didn’t wipe out his accomplishment.

There are a lot of funny stories here surrounding off-ice shenanigans, conflicts with players and downright unconventional coaching strategies that kept me reading for long stretches of time. The book has a very conversational tone not unlike Brian Burke’s excellent BURKE’S LAW, which I would recommend to anyone looking for a peek beyond the ice in just how the business of hockey is run. Much like Burke, Keenan also worked as both a GM and analyst, so has a great way of explaining how a team is built, how they win, with an unmatched eye for talent.

IRON MIKE: MY LIFE BEHIND THE BENCH is one of those rare hockey memoirs that are more intimate in structure and far less robotic than simple blow-by-blow career recaps. Keenan really lets the reader in here to see his whole career, warts and all, and puts forth a very humble, yet grateful, presence. The market tends to get crowded this time of year with the beginning of the NHL season and the lead-up to the holidays, but I hope everyone gives this one consideration as I feel it's one of the stronger ones this season.

I once had the chance to interview noted hockey coach Mike Keenan in a small group setting. In other words, I was in his office in St. Louis with one other reporter after a morning practice. After about 10 minutes with Mike, I have to say I was impressed. He was obviously a smart person with some interesting points to make about our questions. No wonder he won a lot of games - even if he had a reputation as Hockey's Machiavelli.

Therefore, it was an easy call to acquire a copy of his autobiography, "Iron Mike." What would he have to say about his entire hockey career?

It's fair to say that Keenan puts his various sides of his personality on full display here. He had an almost unmatched passion for winning, and drove all of his players hard toward that goal - too hard, in some cases. Keenan also generated plenty of opinions from all who knew him. It adds up to an unlikely but successful career.

Keenan first received a little notice in our part of the hockey world in 1981. He was an unknown junior coach from Ontario when Scotty Bowman of the Sabres tapped him to become the head coach of the team's minor league affiliate in Rochester. Keenan won a championship in the American Hockey League with the Americans. From there it was on to the University of Toronto for a year before landing the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Flyers - a team that was supposed to be rebuilding.

Surprise. The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals that first season, losing to the powerful Edmonton Oilers. Suddenly everyone knew that the man could coach. Keenan stayed through 1988, when some internal problems cost him his job. Note: That last part of the sentence will come up again. Keenan landed in Chicago, where he led the Blackhawks to the finals in the spring of 1992.... but was out of work before training camp.

The Rangers eventually called at that point, and Keenan was behind the bench when New York ended a 54-year drought with a memorable Stanley Cup victory. However, he and Neil Smith never did see eye-to-eye, and Keenan eventually left for a job in St. Louis. From there it was on to Vancouver, Boston, Florida and Calgary in various capacities. There were other problems with people along the way. Keenan now is getting ready to coach the Italian National team in the 2026 Olympics.

Keenan spends a little time on some of his coaching techniques here, and they weren't for the faint of heart. Yes, he would exile players to the locker room during practice for a lack of effort, threaten them with trades to other teams, etc. Occasionally a player - or players - would rebel. There were some frequent quarrels with team executives over personnel, as Keenan always pushed to acquire certain types of players that he thought could help him. It could be said that he sounds like football coach Bill Parcells in that sense. Parcells used to complain about personnel moves, and then issued the famous quote, “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.”

The acknowledgements are quite revealing when it comes to Keenan's level of commitment. He knows he drove himself and everyone around him too hard during his NHL coaching days, and paid a price for it on and off the ice (a couple of failed marriages are a reflection of that). Keenan once ordered a change of hotels in Washington on short notice because the team had lost in its previous visit there. He asked to fire a national anthem singer because his rendition was too slow. So be sure to read the whole book.

It's a complicated package to fit into one mind, and it seems as if the book could have been even longer than it is. Still, "Iron Mike" is a chance to listen in on the thoughts of a personality that has been anything but dull over the years. Those who encountered him along the way in one form or enough certainly will be interested in hearing his side of the stories in full.

Mike Keenan is one of the most fascinating and controversial characters in hockey history. He does not shy away from addressing any of those controversies in this book and, with the perspective of time, addresses his mistakes at times. Recommended reading for any hockey fan, and definitely an eye opener for new hockey fans that may have missed the controversy of the Keenan era.