The Florida Panthers scheduled a news conference at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to announce a new head coach, and numerous reports say it will be Kevin Dineen, coach of the Portland Pirates for the past six seasons.
Dineen, 47, was not available for comment. Eric Weinrich, his assistant coach with the Pirates, declined comment. Brian Petrovek, CEO/Managing Owner of the Pirates, said he was aware that Dineen and the Panthers were talking about the vacancy.
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“I didn’t know how far along they were in their talks,” said Petrovek, who was not surprised at the news. “I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody in the NHL figured out Kevin should be coaching in the NHL.”
Florida is replacing Pete DeBoer, who was fired by General Manager Dale Tallon.
Dineen spent 21 seasons in the NHL, mostly with the Hartford Whalers, with stops in Philadelphia, Carolina, Ottawa, and Columbus. He finished his career with 760 points and 2,229 penalty minutes in 1,188 regular season games.
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