Blackhawks hire former Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen as new assistant

The Chicago Blackhawks moved quickly to replace assistant coach Jamie Kompon - who recently accepted a job as the coach and general manager of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks - hiring former Florida Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen to fill the vacancy on their coaching staff.

The 50-year-old Dineen, who coached the Canadian women's national ice hockey team to a gold medal victory at the 2014 Winter Olympics, was a teammate of current Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville with the Hartford Whalers during the late 80s. Dineen amassed a 56-62-28 record in parts of three seasons as the head coach of the Panthers. 

"Kevin brings proven leadership qualities, having served as an alternate captain and captain for several of his teams during his 19-year NHL career," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said in a team release. "He will bring another well respected voice to our coaching staff and we look forward to his contributions to our team."