Kevin Dineen

Kevin William Dineen is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he has been the head coach of the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League from 2021 to 2024. He previously served as head coach of the Florida Panthers and as an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks. Dineen is currently living with pancreatic cancer.

Dineen began his playing career at age seventeen with the St. Michael's Buzzers in Junior B hockey, recording 15 goals and 43 points with 167 penalty minutes in 40 games during the 1980–81 season. He then played college hockey for the University of Denver Pioneers in the WCHA, where he was selected in the third round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the Hartford Whalers. As a sophomore, he was named captain and improved to 16 goals and 29 points in 36 games, playing both forward and defense. He spent the 1983–84 season with the Canadian national team, scoring 5 goals and 16 points in 52 games, and went pointless in seven games at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Dineen made his NHL debut with Hartford on December 3, 1984, after a brief stint in the AHL with Binghamton. He finished his rookie season with 25 goals and 41 points in 57 games. The following year, he scored 33 goals and 68 points, then led the team with 6 goals and 13 points in the playoffs as Hartford upset Quebec before falling to Montreal. In 1986–87, he had a breakout season with a team-high 40 goals and 79 points, helping the Whalers win the Adams Division, though they lost in the first round. After a dip to 25 goals in 1987–88, he set career highs in 1988–89 with 45 goals and 89 points, leading the club in scoring, and was named to the NHL All-Star Game in both 1988 and 1989. Injuries limited him to 25 goals in 1989–90, and his production fell further to 17 goals in 1990–91. After 4 goals in 16 games to start the 1991–92 season, Hartford traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers for Murray Craven and a fourth-round pick, where he played for his father, head coach Bill Dineen.

With the Flyers, Dineen scored 26 goals and 56 points in 64 games to finish the 1991–92 season, then posted 35 goals and 63 points in 1992–93. He was named Flyers captain for the 1993–94 season but scored only 19 goals and 42 points, and the team missed the playoffs. He resigned the captaincy in September 1994 in favor of Eric Lindros.