Marlies name new head coach & associate coach

The Leafs Tuesday that Gord Dineen will be replacing Steve Spott as the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs AHL affiliate. Spott, the previous head coach of the Marlies, was recently promoted to become an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dineen, at 51, has been the associate coach for the Marlies for the past five seasons, where he helped to lead Toronto to three consecutive North Division Championships, and one Western Conference Title.

This will be Dineen’s second head coaching position in his career, as he previously coached the Iowa Chops back in the 2008-2009 season.

Along with Dineen’s promotion, Toronto also named Derek King as the new associate coach of the Marlies.

King, at age 47, has also spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach for the Marlies.

Each new coach has both NHL and AHL playing experience as well, before retiring to take on a coaching position. Come this fall, we’ll see what they can do.