The Florida Panthers have scheduled a Wednesday press conference where they will announce former NHLer Kevin Dineen as their next head coach.
Dineen, 47, has spent the past six years as the head coach of the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, and won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding coach, as voted by members of the media, in his first season behind the bench.
As a player, Dineen spent 21 seasons in the NHL, primarily with the Hartford Whalers. He also had stops in Philadelphia, Carolina, Ottawa, and Columbus, and finished his career with 760 points and 2229 penalty minutes in 1188 regular season games. He retired in 2003.
Dineen takes over for Pete DeBoer, who was fired by general manager Dale Tallon earlier in the off-season. Dineen will become the Panthers' 11th head coach in franchise history.
