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Blackhawks’ assistant Kevin Dineen among candidates for Avalanche coaching vacancy, per report

The Colorado Avalanche are interested in Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dineen for its head coaching job, reports Mike Chambers and Terry Frei of The Denver Post.

Dineen, 52, has served as the Hawks’ assistant the past two seasons. Prior to joining the Hawks, he coached three seasons for the Florida Panthers and six as the the head coach of the AHL’s Portland Pirates. He also coached Canada’s women’s team to gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the under-18 team to bronze in the same year.

Dineen is no stranger to Denver, having played two seasons from 1981-1983 at the University of Denver. He scored 28 goals and 63 points with the Pioneers, who did not qualify for the national tournament during his tenure there.

The Avs will have to seek permission to interview Dineen since he’s under contract with the Hawks for the 2016-17 season.

The report also list Bob Boughner, a former Colorado defenseman., who has been with the San Jose Sharks for one season under Peter DeBoer. He previously was an assistant with Columbus for one season in 2010-11.

The Avalanche are seeking a head coach to replace Patrick Roy, who resigned from his duties after three seasons Thursday. After Roy’s first season behind the bench, he was voted the Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL’s coach of the year. Colorado went 52-22-8 that season and lost to Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. The next two seasons, the Avs didn’t make the postseason and Roy’s three-season record was 130-92.

The other candidates in the evolving field to succeed Roy are Jared Bednar, head coach of the Cleveland (formerly Lake Erie) Monsters, who recently won the AHL’s Calder Cup; fellow AHL head coach Travis Green of the Utica Comets; Washington Capitals assistant Lane Lambert; and New York Rangers associate head coach Scott Arniel. Former Avalanche winger Brad Larsen, an assistant at Columbus, apparently won’t be among those interviewed.

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