Emotive former NHL bench boss and general manager "Iron" Mike Keenan led KHL team Metallurg Magnitogorsk to the Gagarin Cup on Wednesday. Mettalurg defeated Lev Praha 7-4 in Game 7 of the Gagarin Cup final, winning the first KHL championship in the franchise's history.
By steering Mettalurg to the KHL championship, Keenan has become the first non-Russian to coach a Gagarin Cup winning team. He's also the first coach in history to win both the Stanley Cup and the Gagarin Cup.
Here's footage of Mettalurg celebrating their Gagarin Cup victory:
And a photo of Keenan hoisting the championship trophy:
Ensimmäinen Stanley Cupin ja Gagarin Cupin voittanut valmentaja. IRON-MIKE! #gagarincup #KHLfi #ValitseViasat pic.twitter.com/bWgmKfssYu
— Veikkaavat veljekset (@AABets) April 30, 2014
And a .gif of Mettalurg players throwing Iron Mike into the air, catching him, and then tossing him airborne once again while he smiles and laughs and laugh some more. Pretty much the best thing:
[Courtesy KHL.ru, stick-tap: @hockeymeesh]
Keenan's Magnitogorsk sojourn, that was memorably chronicled this winter by Grantland's Katie Baker, ends with a championship. Is a return to the NHL on the horizon for the noted taskmaster?
