The NHL Playoffs begin today, and the Anaheim Ducks will not be participating for the 8th straight season. While Greg Cronin has only been with the team as head coach for two seasons, General Manager Pat Verbeek decided that it was time to head in a different direction.
The Anaheim Ducks announced that Cronin will not be returning to the bench for his 3rd season.
Anaheim Ducks Fire Head Coach Greg Cronin
The Ducks finished 12th in the Western Conference with a 35-37-10 record, good enough for 80 points. While this was an improvement from their 59-point season a year ago, they were never really a threat for the playoffs and faltered down the stretch when they could have made a run.
“I want to personally thank Greg for his tireless work and dedication to the team,” General Manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “He is responsible in many ways for the improvement we’ve seen from our young core. However, after several weeks of careful evaluation, I concluded we needed a change in direction and a new voice. This was an extremely difficult decision for me to make, but I felt it was necessary to continue our progress toward becoming a Stanley Cup contender that I know we can be.”
The Anaheim Ducks have an extremely talented young core highlighted by Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, and Trevor Zegras.
Unfortunately, the team was a mess on defense and had one of the worst special teams units in the NHL. The new head coach will be tasked with fixing these areas, which will drastically aid in creating a contender in Anaheim.
No interviews have been scheduled yet, but two names that have been rumored are Philadelphia Flyers interim head coach Brad Shaw and Denver University head coach David Carle.
The latter is only 35 years old, so there is sentiment that he would relate to this young Ducks team very well. He has been the Denver head coach since 2018 and has won the NCAA Championship twice in that span.