NHL assistant coaches Bob Boughner of the San Jose Sharks and Kevin Dineen of the Chicago Blackhawks have emerged as major candidates in the Avalanche’s search for a head coach to succeed Patrick Roy.

Boughner is a former Colorado defenseman. Dineen is a former University of Denver standout and a former head coach of the Florida Panthers. The Avalanche wouldn’t comment on either Boughner or Dineen, or any other candidates, saying only that the team’s preliminary phase of the interview process continued.

Boughner, 45, has been with the Sharks one season, coaching the defensemen under Peter DeBoer. He previously was an assistant for one season with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11. For four seasons before and four seasons after his stint in Columbus, Boughner was part-owner, president, CEO and head coach of major junior’s Windsor Spitfires, and led them to consecutive Memorial Cup championships in 2009-10.

Boughner played for six NHL teams, and finished up with two seasons as an Avalanche teammate with Joe Sakic, now general manager of the team. During the dark lockout season of 2004-05 Boughner served as a NHLPA vice president and was considered an influential leader in the player ranks.

Dineen, 52, spent the past two seasons working under former Colorado coach Joel Quenneville with the Blackhawks. Previously, Dineen was Florida’s head coach for parts of three seasons, including the lockout-shortened 2012-13. Before going to Florida, Dineen was head coach of the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates.

The other candidates in the evolving field to succeed Roy are Jared Bednar, head coach of the Cleveland (formerly Lake Erie) Monsters, who recently won the AHL’s Calder Cup; fellow AHL head coach Travis Green of the Utica Comets; Washington Capitals assistant Lane Lambert; and New York Rangers associate head coach Scott Arniel. Former Avalanche winger Brad Larsen, an assistant at Columbus, apparently won’t be among those interviewed.

The Avalanche was required to obtain permission to speak with coaches under contract with other teams for next season, but that doesn’t appear to have been a major problem. Most AHL coaches have out clauses in their deals for NHL head coaching jobs, making approval a mere formality. But the late date of Roy’s resignation — in a surprise move, he stepped down on Aug. 11, six weeks before the opening of training camp — plus family issues such as the beginning of the school year for children could have complicated matters.