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Anaheim Ducks Name Greg Cronin Head Coach

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The Anaheim Ducks have named veteran assistant Greg Cronin the team’s 11th head coach in franchise history, as announced Monday morning. At age 60, this is Cronin’s first role as an NHL head coach.

Cronin has held head coaching roles at the NCAA and AHL levels, including the past five seasons with the Colorado Eagles. With the hiring, the Colorado Avalanche are now in the market for an AHL head coach.

His previous NHL experience came with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs. Cronin’s first NHL work came with the Isles in 1998, hired as an assistant coach before being named the team’s director of player development (as well as head coach of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers) in 2003. After the 2004-05 lockout, though, Cronin returned to the college ranks as the head coach of Northeastern University, a title he held six seasons. He won the Hockey East Coach of the Year award in 2008-09.

In 2011, Cronin returned to NHL coaching by taking an assistant job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Three seasons later, he returned to the Islanders for a four-year stint on their bench before heading to the Eagles in 2018.

He replaces the outgoing Dallas Eakins, who the Ducks decided not to retain with his contract expiring this offseason. Eakins’ fourth season behind the Ducks bench ended in last place, with Anaheim allowing the most goals against per game of any team in the past 25 years.

Cronin’s hire is thinly veiled as a targeted approach to address their defense. While he could be described as a firebrand personality, he’s regarded as one of the more detail-oriented coaches at the minor league level and should focus on developing the all-around games of Anaheim’s young talent.

Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek alluded to that in a statement:

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. 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 hasn’t had much to work with in terms of prospects during his time with the Eagles, so it’s unfair to judge him on his development of young players into NHL talents at the pro level. However, that’s the task he’ll have to take on as the Ducks look to gain some forward momentum in their rebuild.

Bettman Presser Notes: World Cup, Senators, Relocation, Nichushkin, Front Office

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Before the start of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights, Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, and Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, Bill Daly, gave their annual version of hockey’s “State of the Union” address to the media. The two spoke at length about a plethora of topics, and one of the more intriguing tidbits was that the NHL is looking into bringing back the World Cup of Hockey (Tweet Link).

In 1996, what was formerly known as the Canada Cup, the World Cup of Hockey was born, and it took place at the then-new Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and also the then-new Bell Centre in Montreal. The United States was the eventual champion, beating Canada in three games.

The tournament took a short break, continuing again in 2004, where Canada became the eventual winner against Finland. The last time the tournament was held was back in 2016 when Canada beat the European team in two games.

In the 2016 rendition, the World Cup of Hockey featured new teams such as Europe and North America. The European team featured countries that were not represented by their own national teams, including players from countries such as Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, etc. The North American, which ended up being one of the most fun teams to watch during the tournament, featured players from Canada and the United States that were under the age of 23.

Other notes:

  • As the Ottawa Senators look to find a new owner, Bettman states that the process could still take a couple more weeks (Tweet Link). The last time the Senators went through a sale was back in 2003 when the late Eugene Melnyk purchased the team for a reported sum of $92MM. Melnyk oversaw the Senators team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017. Having passed in the spring of 2022, the team residing in Canada’s capital should have a new owner by the end of the month.
  • After the announcement that the city of Tempe would not be housing the Arizona Coyotes, rumors immediately sprung about a possible relocation. In the press conference, Bettman reported that Ryan Smith, the current owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, has expressed interest in relocating the Coyotes to Salt Lake City (Tweet Link). Although this is considerable news, especially coming from the Commissioner, Bettman did express a strong desire for the Coyotes to remain in Arizona and says that the NHL is helping the franchise find locations in Phoenix.
  • Early in the 2023 NHL Playoffs, it was reported that forward Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche would be sent home for the remainder of the playoffs. Asked about this during their press conference, especially in light of the police body came footage being released, Daly reports that Nichushkin is not under investigation, and is free to play during the 2023-24 NHL season (Tweet Link). Although it was never reported otherwise, it is positive news for Colorado, after recently receiving news that captain Gabriel Landeskog would miss the entirety of next season.
  • As eliminated teams are looking to fill both General Manager and head coach vacancies, it appears that two names could be officially coming to the market. Bettman reports that longtime NHL head coach, Joel Quenneville, and former General Manager, Stan Bowman, have both requested interviews to be reinstated in the league (Tweet Link). Both have been prohibited from working in the NHL ever since the sexual assault exposure from former player, Kyle Beach, came out during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

East Notes: Killorn, Orlov, Rangers

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The Lightning are believed to have made a long-term, low AAV offer to pending unrestricted free agent winger Alex Killorn, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column.  The 33-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him put up 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games and has the most points of any player set to hit the open market.  After playing on a $4.45MM AAV deal that has been team-friendly the last couple of seasons, Killorn will have a chance at a sizable increase in free agency.  Tampa Bay would undoubtedly love to keep him in the fold but with minimal cap space to work with this summer, they can’t afford to pay market value.  Accordingly, their most realistic chance to keep him is a long-term agreement that would almost certainly be an overpayment by the time it expires but a low enough AAV that they can squeak him in under the Upper Limit.  Even so, that will be a tough sell.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • While the Bruins would likely want to keep defenseman Dmitry Orlov in the fold if they could free up enough cap space to do so, the veteran told Sport-Express’ Alexey Shevchenko that he’s looking forward to seeing what’s available in free agency. The 31-year-old is coming off another strong season, notching 36 points in 66 games between Washington and Boston while logging 22:33 per night, the second-highest ATOI of his career.  Orlov, who also indicated that he’s not planning to sign in the KHL, is coming off a contract that carries a $5.1MM AAV and is likely to get a fair bit more than that on the open market with a long-term agreement.
  • The Rangers have not yet interviewed Patrick Roy for their coaching vacancy, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. However, it’s worth noting that Roy is still coaching with his QMJHL team, Quebec, set to play the final game of the Memorial Cup on Sunday so perhaps at that time, GM Chris Drury might reach out to his former teammate.  Roy has some NHL experience under his belt having spent three seasons behind the bench in Colorado before abruptly resigning in 2016.  Among coaches still available New York has already interviewed Peter Laviolette and Jay Leach and the team is set to do so soon with John Hynes if they haven’t already done so.

Mike Babcock Expected To Be Named Blue Jackets Head Coach

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It was expected by now that the Blue Jackets would officially have their head coach in place by now.  However, earlier today, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported (Twitter link) that the delay isn’t tied to their own deliberations but rather that something and/or someone was holding up the process.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the someone in question is Mike Babcock and the something pertains to his old contract in Toronto.  Dreger reports that Babcock is expected to become the new bench boss in Columbus but the hold-up in making the move official is due to his former deal with the Maple Leafs which doesn’t expire until the end of June.  Speculatively, based on this, it would seem like the Blue Jackets are waiting for the final month of his eight-year, $50MM contract from back in 2015 to end so that they won’t have to be responsible for paying for part of that.  (Babcock will receive that money no matter what, either all from Toronto or partially from Columbus with the Maple Leafs covering the difference.)

Babcock last coached in the NHL back in the 2019-20 campaign before being let go by Toronto after a sluggish 9-10-4 start to their season.  His tenure in Toronto wasn’t the greatest overall but it came on the heels of a successful ten-year run behind the bench in Detroit, anchored by a Stanley Cup title in 2008.  Overall, the 60-year-old has a 700-418-183 record over parts of 17 seasons between Anaheim, Detroit, and Toronto but word surfaced following his departure from the Maple Leafs about a toxic playing environment with both the Red Wings and Maple Leafs.  Internationally, he is the only member of the ’Triple Gold’ club among coaches (Olympics, World Championships, and a Stanley Cup).

Babcock was briefly behind the bench again in 2021-22, working with the University of Saskatchewan on a volunteer basis, receiving a two-year deal.  However, he stepped aside last summer, indicating at the time that he was retiring from coaching although he could change his mind if the right situation came up.  It appears that he feels the Blue Jackets are the right situation.

Columbus was active last summer, making a big splash on the free agent market in Johnny Gaudreau while working out a multi-year deal with Patrik Laine to give their attack a strong one-two punch.  However, it didn’t materialize in the form of victories as the Blue Jackets finished dead last in the Eastern Conference with just 59 points, a sizable drop from the 81 they had the year before.  That resulted in Brad Larsen being let go at the end of the season.

Babcock will now be tasked with trying to turn things around in Columbus, a team that has some quality youngsters in the organization already while they’re set to add another with the third-overall pick later this month, a selection that could yield the future top center they’ve long been seeking.  It’s a surprising turn of events for someone who hadn’t really been considered much in recent years for NHL coaching opportunities but if he’s able to get the Blue Jackets back into the playoff mix relatively quickly, he’ll have a chance at finishing his coaching career on a better note than it would have ended otherwise.

Assuming this hire is made official – though it might take a few more weeks – there are now three remaining head coaching vacancies in the NHL – the Ducks, Flames, and Rangers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Senators, Penguins, Luostarinen

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reported today that the talk amongst the bidders for ownership of the Ottawa Senators is that Toronto billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos is the current favorite to purchase the franchise. Apostolopoulos was one of four bidders with the other three being Los Angeles-based producer Neko Sparks, Michael and Jeffrey Kimel of Harlo Capital, and Toronto’s Michael Andlauer. Garrioch goes on to say that Apostolopoulos, who missed out on purchasing the NFL’s Washington Commanders is in the driver’s seat as he had the highest bid at $1 billion.

Garrioch adds that it is far from a done deal as there has been talk that the other ownership groups have been making moves to improve their bids and add additional people to their groups. Sources have told Garrioch that Andlauer is confident he will get the team and he believes his position with the Montreal Canadiens as an alternate member of the NHL’s board of governors will give him the inside track to the Senators ownership. There was talk earlier in the week that Andlauer and the Kimel’s might form a collective group, but those talks have apparently stopped after not getting very far.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Senator’s ownership saga goes in the upcoming weeks. Gary Bettman doesn’t generally like to have other teams making announcements during the Stanley Cup finals, and with game 1 set for Saturday night it might be well into June when there is an official announcement about who will be the next owner of the Senators.

In other snapshots from around the NHL:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins got to work today in the first day with Kyle Dubas at the helm. Dubas took over as president of hockey operations and interim general manager from Brian Burke and Ron Hextall and was quick to make moves to dismiss some members of the old guard. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that director of pro scouting Kerry Huffman, director of hockey operations and salary cap management Alec Schall, and senior VP of integrated performance Teena Murray were all let go with at least one year remaining on their contracts. All three were hired by Hextall and will not be part of the new management group in Pittsburgh as they rebuild their hockey ops after a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
  • Tom Gulitti of NHL.com writes that Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen is practicing with the team in Vegas ahead of game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals tomorrow night. Luostarinen was paired back up with his usual linemates Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell. The 24-year-old was injured in game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes but has yet to miss a game. Paul Maurice was quoted in The Hockey News on Monday saying that he expected Luostarinen to be ready for game 1 and things appear to be trending that way. Luostarinen has been a big part of the Panthers third line in this postseason putting up two goals and three assists in 16 games.

Snapshots: Hjorth, Trotz, Blue Jackets

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As the deadline to sign players with expiring draft rights is tomorrow, the Columbus Blue Jackets will at least lose one player in the process. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Blue Jacket’s fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Eric Hjorth, will not be signed by tomorrow’s deadline.

For the most part, Hjorth has spent most of his playing time since his draft year in the Swedish minor leagues. Most recently, playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan for the HC Vita Hasten, Hjorth scored three goals and six assists in 43 games played this year.

Although most teams are hoping for NHL-bound talent even into the later rounds, it does not appear that Columbus is missing out on a player that is ready for professional hockey in North America. Fortunately for the Blue Jackets, Hjorth is the only player in the organization that had expiring draft rights this season.

Other snapshots:

  • In an interview with the press today, Barry Trotz partly explained the draft plan for the Nashville Predators this year. Alex Daugherty of PenaltyBoxRadio, reports that Trotz has told his scouts to “take some swings” and be aggressive in this month’s draft. Although coaching his teams to a relatively “boring” style of hockey, it appears that Trotz may employ a much different tactic as General Manager of the Predators.
  • Earlier this week, it was reported that the Blue Jackets were on the edge of hiring the next head coach of the team. Unfortunately, Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that the expectation is the team will not name a new head coach tonight, or at any point tomorrow. The Blue Jackets are still close to making a decision, but it appears that the front office has not yet come to a fully unanimous agreement.

 

East Notes: Rangers, Holl, Maple Leafs

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Already a day after his removal as the head coach of the Nashville Predators, John Hynes has plenty of interest from teams around the NHL. Per Mollie Walker of the New York Post, it appears that the New York Rangers have been given permission to interview Hynes for their head coaching vacancy.

The Rangers have already been heavily linked to Peter Laviolette, but with another veteran head coach now on the open market, it is only natural that the Rangers continue to do their due diligence. Having been a head coach in the NHL for the last nine seasons, Hynes fits the mold of an established coach that the Rangers appear to be after in their search.

In his first five years behind the bench of an NHL team, Hynes took the New Jersey Devils to a 150-159-45 record, appearing in the playoffs once during the 2017-18 season, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. After his ouster in New Jersey, Hynes was hired by the Predators prior to the 2019-20 season.

In his four seasons in Nashville, Hynes coached the Predators to the playoffs three times, losing in the first round each year. After all was said and done in Nashville, Hynes held a 134-95-18 record with the Predators.

Other notes:

  • In a report today from the Toronto Star, Kevin McGran reports that Justin Holl would like to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. However, Holl’s agent, Brian Bartlett, recognizes that significant turnover is likely coming to the Maple Leafs’ roster this summer, and Holl could very well be an odd man out. Although providing good physical energy to Toronto’s bottom-four defensemen highlighted by his 139 blocks and 151 hits, Holl lacked mightily in the possession game with 28 takeaways compared to 56 giveaways.
  • Confirming last week that the General Manager of the St.Louis Blues, Doug Armstrong, did not have an out clause in his contract to join the Maple Leafs as General Manager, Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reports that Toronto never asked the Blues for permission to speak with Armstrong. Today, the Maple Leafs found their head of the front office by hiring Brad Treliving.

Nashville Predators Officially Hire Andrew Brunette

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May 31: The wait seems inconsequential, as Brunette has been officially announced as the Predators’ new head coach.

May 30: The Nashville Predators have confirmed at least part of their widely reported coaching change, officially announcing that head coach John Hynes has been relieved of his duties with one year remaining on his contract. The team also announced that assistant coach Dan Lambert, who also had a one-year tenure left on his deal, will not be returning.

Somewhat interestingly, the team did not confirm today’s earlier reports that New Jersey Devils assistant coach Andrew Brunette was set to take over as Hynes’ replacement. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun now expects the official announcement to come tomorrow morning.

Lambert worked with the Predators’ forward group and power-play units for four seasons from 2019 to 2023. During Lambert’s tenure, the team achieved a power-play success rate of 19.5 percent, including a franchise record of 24.4 percent in the 2021-22 season. Incoming general manager Barry Trotz commended Lambert as a quality power-play coach and thanked him for his contributions, particularly during a season marked by roster changes.

Trotz also released an official statement on Hynes, who was fired after recording the second-highest point percentage by a head coach in franchise history:

John Hynes is a good man and a good hockey coach. He did an outstanding job after the trade deadline with our team, especially with our young players, and he is a well-prepared, hard-working coach who will continue to grow in the NHL. After our year-end meetings and some additional evaluation, it was time to change the voice and time to go in a different direction. On behalf of all of us at the Predators, we’d like to thank John for all his work here and wish him and his family all the best moving forward.

Team president and CEO John Henry also released a statement, thanking Hynes and Lambert for their work during a difficult time off-ice for the team and the city of Nashville.

I’d like to thank John, Dan and their families for all they did for the Predators and our community. We appreciate all their work during their respective tenures with us, helping our team push through so many difficulties that hit us all in 2020 – from the tornadoes to the pandemic and the Christmas morning explosion, they always had our team ready to serve the community. John and Dan also guided us to three playoff appearances and additionally ensured our team represented Smashville well in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series and in Bern and Prague in the 2023 NHL Global Series. We will always be grateful for their contributions.

Coaching Notes: Gallant, Laviolette, Carbery

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The offseason coaching carousel continues, with Andrew Brunette taking over for the Nashville Predators today. That puts another experienced head coach on the market in John Hynes, adding to a long list of candidates for any vacancies.

Here’s a rundown of notes from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, on upcoming (and past) interviews:

  • The Calgary Flames have contacted former New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant, who will be part of an extensive interview process as they look to replace the outgoing Darryl Sutter. Gallant has had great success in all his head coaching roles but has never made it through a third season with the same team.
  • The Rangers are expected to meet with Peter Laviolette again today as they look to replace Gallant. Hynes has also been linked to the New York job, suggesting they’ll go with another experienced name after parting ways with Gallant earlier this month.
  • Laviolette’s replacement with the Washington Capitals, Spencer Carbery, also interviewed with the Predators, according to LeBrun. As shown by the hiring of Brunette, Nashville was clearly willing to go with less experience; Carbery will be getting his first NHL head coaching opportunity in Washington.

Nashville Predators Expected To Fire John Hynes, Hire Andrew Brunette

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The Nashville Predators are making an unexpected change behind the bench. Per an initial report from ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, Nashville has let go head coach John Hynes with a year left on his deal and is hiring former Florida Panthers interim head coach and current New Jersey Devils assistant Andrew Brunette.

Hynes was given a two-year extension from the Predators just over a calendar year ago. After selling at the trade deadline, Nashville went on a 12-9-2 run and nearly squeaked into the playoffs despite key injuries, finishing just three points outside and 10th in the Western Conference.

That, combined with the delayed timing into the offseason (Washington has already created and filled their head coaching vacancy after a weeks-long search), makes this a piece of news with very peculiar timing.

With Barry Trotz set to become the second general manager in franchise history this offseason, he evidently felt a change was necessary behind the bench. In doing so, he brings in a player he coached as a member of the Predators early on in the team’s lifespan – incidentally, Brunette scored the first regular-season goal in Nashville history.

Brunette does bring a varied experience to the Nashville bench, beginning his administrative career with the Minnesota Wild after retirement in 2012. With Minnesota, he served in four different roles (special assistant to the GM, assistant GM, assistant coach, and director of player personnel) in just seven seasons before joining the Panthers as an assistant coach.

He became the team’s interim head coach in October 2021 after Joel Quenneville resigned in response to the investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks’ mishandling of 2010 sexual assault allegations against then-video coach Brad Aldrich. His coaching performance down the stretch earned him a President’s Trophy and a nomination for the Jack Adams Award, but the interim tag was never removed, and Florida instead hired Paul Maurice the following offseason.

Brunette found a home for 2022-23 as an associate coach on the New Jersey Devils’ bench, largely entrusted with running the team’s power play, which ranked 13th in the league during the regular season. In February, Brunette was charged with driving under the influence while in South Florida during the league’s All-Star break.

He inherits a Nashville roster that, while imperfect, still boasts a mix of star power (Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Juuse Saros) and a healthy number of young players on the rise. Brunette’s hiring seems like a targeted move to try and generate more offense out of the team’s current core.

The decision puts Hynes in a tough spot, as many teams are already well down the road in their coaching searches and weren’t expecting him to become available. However, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple notes that Hynes could be a contender for the New York Rangers head coaching job, replacing the outgoing Gerard Gallant.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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