Bill Dineen

William Patrick "Bill" Dineen (September 18, 1932 – December 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional player and head coach. Throughout his career, he was traded for Bob Bailey on three separate occasions.

He first was noticed playing for the Ottawa St. Pats, where he was noted as a stylish, fleet forward. He had several options for hockey but his father insisted on schooling and he began his junior career by playing 2 seasons for the St. Michael's Majors of the OHL. He spent 5 years playing for the Detroit Red Wings from 1954-1958. He won 2 Stanley Cups with the team in 1954 and 1955. He finished second to Camille Henry in the Calder Memorial Trophy balloting for 1953-54. He later played briefly for the Chicago Black Hawks.

Dineen played in 324 NHL games, scoring 51 goals and 44 assists.

After 1958, however, he spent the rest of his playing career in the minor leagues with various teams including the Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Barons, Rochester Americans, Quebec Aces, Seattle Totems, and the Denver Spurs.

In 1973, he was behind luring former Red Wing teammate Gordie Howe out of retirement with the then unheard of move of drafting then 17 year old Mark Howe after the team had already acquired WHA rights to Marty Howe and giving Gordie a chance to play with both of his sons.

Three of his sons Gordon, Peter, and Kevin also played in the NHL. As of 2016 Gord is an assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, Peter is a scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Kevin is an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks. Two of his other sons are also working for NHL teams Jerry is a video coach with the New York Rangers and Shawn is a scout with the Nashville Predators.

The Dineens were part of Roy MacGregor's book The Home Team: Fathers, Sons & Hockey

After his retirement as a player Dineen went into coaching. He was perhaps best known for his six year tenure behind the bench of the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association, where he coached Gordie Howe for four seasons and won two championships. He was later named head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992 where he got to coach his son Kevin. He was fired by the Flyers after 1993. Bill was a noted story teller, he was not the type to draw attention to himself in his stories and also known for not using cuss words in his stories.

He also coached the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League from 1983-84 through 1988-89. He won the Calder Cup in 1985-86 and 1988-89. Bill and his wife Pat settled in Glens Falls, New York and continued to live there on a lake in the Adirondack Mountains. Pat passed away in 2010. Bill finally got to spend his day with the Stanley Cup in the summer of 2015, when his son Kevin's Chicago Blackhawks (he was an assistant coach) won the Stanley Cup and brought it with him to the Adirondacks. Four of his children also have homes on the same lake.

Honors

 * Two time Stanley Cup champion 1954, 1955 (Detroit Red Wings)
 * Two time AVCO World Trophy champion 1974, 1975 (Coach-Houston Aeros)
 * Two time Calder Cup champion (Coach-Adirondack Red Wings 1986, 1989)
 * Two time World Hockey Association Coach of the Year (1974, 1975)
 * Member American Hockey League Hall of Fame (Class of 2014)
 * Member World Hockey Association Hall of Fame (Class of 2010-Inaugural Class)
 * Member Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame (Class of 1999)