Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Avs closer to naming new coach

August 24, 2016, 3:09 PM ET [19 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Avalanche are closing in on a new head coach to replace Patrick Roy, who resigned Aug. 11 after three seasons.

The frontrunners, according to the Denver Post, are Chicago Blackhawks assistant Kevin Dineen, Cleveland (formerly Lake Erie) Monsters coach Jared Bednar, and Washington Capitals assistant Lane Lambert.

Utica Comets coach Travis Green also was said to have been interviewed, along with San Jose Sharks assistant Bob Boughner.

Boughner was thought to be a finalist, but the paper reported late Wednesday that that's no longer the case. The Columbus Dispatch reported that New York Rangers associate coach Scott Arniel, a former Blue Jackets coach, didn't receive permission to interview with the Avalanche.

Avalanche vice president Jean Martineau told the Post that general manager Joe Sakic has finished interviewing candidates and is "moving into the final phase of the process.”

Dineen, 52, has spent the past two seasons working with former Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville in Chicago. He coached the Portland Pirates in the AHL for six seasons and the Florida Panthers for parts of three seasons, posting a 56-62-28 record before he was fired 16 games into the 2013-14 season. The Panthers went 38-26-18 in his debut season in 2011-12 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. He also coached the Canadian women's Olympic team to the gold medal in 2014.

A right wing in his playing days, Dineen played two seasons at the University of Denver (1981-83) and 19 seasons in the NHL with Hartford, Philadelphia, Carolina, Ottawa and Columbus. He had 355 goals and 405 assists in 1,188 NHL games.

Bednar, 44, a defenseman during a nine-year, minor-league career, coached Lake Erie -- the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate -- to the league championship last season. The Monsters went 43-22-11 in regular-season play. The Avalanche earlier this summer hired Monsters assistant Nolan Pratt, another ex-defenseman.

Bednar retired as a player in 2001-02 with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL. He was a Stingrays assistant for five years, head coach for two, and guided them to the league championship in 2008-09. He was Peoria Rivermen coach in the AHL for two years, and an assistant for two years with Springfield before being named its head coach in 2014-15.

Lambert, 51, has been an assistant with Washington the past two seasons, which followed three seasons as an assistant with Nashville. He was the Milwaukee Admirals head coach for four years in the AHL. A center in his playing days, Lambert had 58 goals and 65 assists in 283 games in five NHL seasons with Detroit, the Rangers and Quebec (where he was a Sakic teammate). He played parts of eight seasons in the minors, most recently with the Houston Aeros in the IHL in 2000-01.



Join the Discussion: » 19 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Rick Sadowski
» One-year deal for Johansson
» One more postseason disappointment
» Bednar cleared to coach tonight; MacKinnon Hart finalist
» Cale Makar a Norris Trophy finalist
» Jost: Do or die Game 5 tonight; Kadri suspension upheld