Ducks hire new head coach

The Anaheim Ducks have announced that longtime NHL assistant coach Greg Cronin will be the newest head coach of the team starting in 2023-24.

Cronin will become the Ducks’ 11th head coach, replacing Dallas Eakins after he was let go in April.

“While we did cast a wide net in searching for the next head coach, it became clear to me that Greg would be the ideal fit for the position,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said in a team release. “Being a young team, I felt we needed a teacher of the finer points of the game, and someone who has worked extensively over time with talented young players, helping them develop into successful NHL players. Greg has done all that and more, and we are excited to name him head coach of the Anaheim Ducks.” 

Cronin has spent the past five years as coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, making the playoffs every year. The team never made it out of the second round, but he got to work with some of Colorado’s young talent that helped build the Stanley Cup-winning squad last year.

Cronin has worked as a coach in some capacity since 1987 back with Colby College. He then spent the next 10 years in NCAA Division I with the University of Maine and Colorado College before getting a two-year run with the USNTDP in 1996-97 and 1997-98.

Cronin then made his pro coaching debut with the New York Islanders, serving as the team’s assistant coach from 1999-03. He took over head coaching duties with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport for two years before going back to the NCAA to lead Northeastern in 2005-06. He stayed there until 2011 before taking over as Toronto’s assistant coach for two years and would return to the Islanders from 2013-18.

The Ducks finished dead last in the NHL this season, but look to have a bright future with some quality talent. Anaheim has Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Jamie Drysdale already in the lineup, with top prospects like Owen Zellweger and Lukas Dostal on the way. They’ll have the second pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, with a chance to draft a high-quality prospect like Adam Fantilli.

“This team has a fantastic future ahead, and I’m very grateful to the Samueli family and Pat Verbeek for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity,” Cronin said.