With the NHL’s coaching carousel coming to a grinding halt, many big names will be taking coaching jobs over the next few weeks. Kevin Dineen is one of these names, as the Utica Comets announced today that he’ll be the third head coach in team history for the New Jersey Devils AHL affiliate.
Dineen has been in headlines all offseason long, as the 57-year-old was reportedly in talks to become the first head coach in Seattle Kraken history. It didn’t pan out, and he’ll now be a head coach in the AHL for the third straight season. Dineen was let go by the Anaheim Ducks organization last season after serving as the head coach of their affiliate in San Diego for two years.
It’s Dineen’s fourth head coaching job. Soon after retiring from the NHL, he transitioned to a front-office role and parlayed that into his first head coaching job with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. He lasted six seasons there, coaching from 2005 to 2011, before coaching the Florida Panthers from 2011 to 2014. He then served for an extended period of time as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks before taking the head coach role with San Diego in 2019.
Dineen will oversee a roster in Utica that could contain a few very key pieces to New Jersey’s future, including Alexander Holtz, Nolan Foote, and Kevin Bahl. The Devils hope his harder-nosed style translates to success on the ice in Utica.