Bill Dineen’s long and successful hockey career included two turns in the American Hockey League – first as a player and later as a decorated head coach.
A native of Arvida, Que., Dineen played five seasons in the NHL and won two Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings before making his AHL debut with the Buffalo Bisons in 1958. Dineen topped the 20-goal mark four times in his six years with Buffalo, Cleveland, Rochester and Quebec, and made appearances in the Calder Cup Finals in 1959 and 1964.
Dineen transitioned to coaching as his playing career wound down, and he would win championships in both the Western Hockey League and the World Hockey Association before returning to the AHL as head coach of the Adirondack Red Wings in 1983. Dineen’s six seasons behind the bench in Glens Falls saw him win the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach in 1985 and again in 1986, and he led the Red Wings to Calder Cup titles in 1986 and 1989.
Dineen went on to serve as the Adirondack Red Wings’ general manager in 1989-90, and was later head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. He settled with his family in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, as many of his former players also did, and his sons Shawn, Peter, Gord, Kevin and Jerry all went on to play and/or coach in the AHL.
Bill Dineen tallied 271 points in 391 AHL games during his playing career and earned a coaching record of 246-182-52 in becoming one of the most beloved figures in Glens Falls’ AHL history. He is one of just 12 coaches ever to win more than one Calder Cup, and one of only two to earn the Pieri Award in consecutive seasons.