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Avalanche Offseason: Ducks Hire Greg Cronin as Head Coach

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Greg Cronin

Add another item to the “to do” list for the Colorado Avalanche this offseason – a new AHL head coach.

On Monday morning, the Anaheim Ducks announced they had hired Colorado Eagles head coach Greg Cronin to be their new bench boss. Cronin, 60, has been the Eagles head coach since 2018. Cronin led a severely depleted Eagles team to the AHL playoffs last season, before they were bounced in the second round. The Eagles made the playoffs every year he was coach, outside of the COVID shortened season.

This will be Cronin’s first NHL head coaching job, but not his first time coaching in the NHL. He has 12 prior years of NHL coaching experience, as he was an assistant for both the New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Ducks, who have the second overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, are expected to be a very young team. They wanted a coach who could teach their players the right way to play the game, and that’s exactly what Cronin does. He has helped prepare many players for the NHL, as a lot of the AHL call-ups for the Avalanche fit right in when brought up. Some notable players he helped develop are Ryan Graves and Logan O’Connor.

Now, the Avalanche are tasked with finding a new head coach for their AHL affiliate. That’s not always an easy thing to do. Before Cronin, the team struggled to find a good fit, so this will be difficult. A good AHL coach is more important then people think. It’s unfortunate for the Avalanche, but well-earned for Cronin, who has put in the time to get a shot at running an NHL squad.

Stay tuned to CHN as more news breaks this offseason.

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