Iron Mike has thrown his black hat in the Devils’ ring.
Mike Keenan, the only coach in 70 years to lead the Rangers to a Stanley Cup, told The Post he is interested in trying to end the Devils’ seven-year drought.
“I’m interested in coaching, not just any possible job, but with somebody like Lou [Lamoriello], who has a lot of experience and continues to formulate strong teams, probably the best in the game, well . . .” Keenan said yesterday.
It is believed that Keenan was interested in the Devils job last summer, but Lamoriello waited out top choice Jacques Lemaire.
Lemaire retired Monday, and Lamoriello is going back to his list, now headed by the new name of Ken Hitchcock, the former Stars, Flyers and Blue Jackets coach. Devils career leading goal-scorer John MacLean is the leading in-house candidate, having spent six seasons with the team as an assistant coach and this past season coaching its AHL Lowell farm team to a rare playoff berth.
Keenan would make it interesting.
“I have no idea what Lou has in mind,” Keenan said.
Keenan, 60, could sing “I’ve Been Everywhere.” He has coached the Flyers, Blackhawks, Rangers, Blues, Canucks, Bruins, Panthers and Flames. Calgary went 46-30-6 in 2008-09, his last year behind the bench. Brent Sutter left the Devils last summer and succeeded Keenan as Flames coach, only to miss the playoffs. Keenan has also served as general manager of the Blues and Panthers.
Keenan’s 672 victories stand as the fourth-most in NHL history, behind Scotty Bowman (1,122), Al Arbour (782) and Dick Irvin (692).
Keenan is famously controversial, which might not play badly in Newark, where the Devils were starting to fill seats before their third straight first-round playoffs ouster last week.
His black hat reputation was cemented when Keenan was determined by the league to have been talking to another team about a future job while he was coaching the Rangers to their 1994 Cup. He has clashed with general managers over personnel, clashed with players and press and is the modern definition of the classic tough coach.
As coach, he was a prime mover in the 1994 trade-deadline deals that changed the face of the Rangers before their Cup run. During his finest hour, he survived a meltdown in the 1994 conference finals against the Devils, when he benched stars like Brian Leetch, prompting Mark Messier to rally the team behind his “We’ll Win” promise to come back on New Jersey with victories in Games 6 and 7.