Speculation: 2024-25 Coaching/Management/Ownership

[ScarTroy]

"Improving defense doesn't result in wins if you don't have the forward talent to outscore your still shit defense?"

Do you truly understand the words coming out of your mouth?

Ducks
Season	Game set	Games	W	L	OTL	Pts	Pts Pct		GF	GA	GD
2022-23	season	82​	23​	47​	12​	58​	35.4%​		206​	335​	-129​
2023-24	season	82​	27​	50​	5​	59​	36.0%​		203​	293​	-90​
Difference	Cronin -	Eakins	4​	3​	-7​	1​	0.0061​	0​	-3​	-42​	39​

Maybe you should look at the chart again. Similarly produced mediocre offense, but significantly worse defensive output under Eakins. Now, look at the team Points production. Cronin produced only 1 extra point. You truly cannot have it both ways here of waxing Cronin's balls at the same time not recognizing what Eakins did.

That second table is about 1-goal games, not just OT games. But I do find your stance comical as you praise Cronin for earning an extra win in 1-goal game situations while simultaneously disparaging Eakins' team ability to push games into OT to generate more points. In 1-goal game situations, Eakins' team were able to not only be in more 1-goal game situations (+3 more games), but also generate 9 more points than Cronin's team. There exists a disconnect in your logical consistency again, especially when the defensive roster given to Eakins was a Verbeek shit sandwich.

Although for all the bitching and moaning about missing some of the top-6 from you, you jumped onto the "improving the bottom-6" quickly. I shared charts that the top-6F under Cronin did better than the top-6F under Eakins and you're dismissive. I shared the 1-goal game charts that show Cronin doesn't know how to generate more points in 1-goal game situations and you use mental gymnastics to be dismissive of that outcome. But when I support my stats with Verbeek citing the bottom-6 needs to produce more, you're like Pavlov's dog to wave that banner without thought.

I know Cronin isn't going anywhere, but I want to at least know his flaws so that I know if he has improved for the next season. I am not sure you have actually cited these Cronin "major flaws" that you speak of. Eakins isn't returning, but I at least I know Eakins did more with lesser talents. I wasn't expecting that at the start of last season, but that's how it all shook down. Hell, I wasn't expecting Eakins to be the head coach for 2022-23.

On a tangent, guess the thought that the Samueli's don't like paying twice for coaching, e.g. Eakins wasn't fired, his contract wasn't renewed; asst coach Brown wasn't fired, his contract wasn't renewed.

You brought up the bottom 6, so I acknowledged it, and even gave you credit on it. Yet now you are giving me shit about that, and have roughly wrote 8+ paragraphs and shared 3 charts and not answered my original question. I’m free to expand on your bs even if you still haven’t answered the original question you’ve been deflecting since May.

You haven’t shared where the top 6 did better under Cronin, you just added 2 players to it to fit a narrative as if it’s some “aha, gotcha” moment.

One last time. With our top 6 healthy, what was Cronins record?

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Cronin had an objectively bad rookie season. It’s inarguable, there were numerous red flags, and they weren’t all just injury related. But we can’t write him off because of the injuries, the stupid load management, and because he was a rookie, after all. There’s also PV’s Firehose Theory, if you feel like buying that. So we’ll have to see.

 

[Deuce22]

Comparing Cronin to Eakins is a fool’s errand. Eakins was bad, has always been bad, and got more time as Ducks head coach than he deserved. The question should be, “Is Cronin the guy moving forward?” I’m not sure, but the on ice results need to be better.

 

[Kalv]

Judging a coach on the way he gives postgame interviews is like judging an astronaut based on the way he poops in space. Sure, it's technically part of the job, but not at all important. Some people just don't do well at extemporaneous speaking. Maybe Cronin could be better at spouting meaningless cliches, since that's what 98% of coaches do, or he could make everyone chuckle by dropping f-bombs, but it wouldn't change anything.

I do think it's fair to judge the seeming lack of progression from the team throughout the season. Like others, though, I'd like to see what Cronin will do with a roster that's both a little bit healthier and older, and knows what to expect from training camp. If the same problems are plaguing the team by New Year's (lack of discipline, inability to break the puck out, squelching of offensive talent), then I think it will be clearer that Cronin isn't the answer.

If I'm a captain or a crew member, I'd not want a person with me who cannot poop in space, tbh

Like @Static said, he also kind of admitted treatinv Zegras differently. That also I did not like.

 

[dracom]

If I'm a captain or a crew member, I'd not want a person with me who cannot poop in space, tbh

Like @Static said, he also kind of admitted treatinv Zegras differently. That also I did not like.

i agree...unless they are treating him differently because they are expecting more out of him than anyone else. like, being the leader and face of the franchise kind of thing.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Comparing Cronin to Eakins is a fool’s errand. Eakins was bad, has always been bad, and got more time as Ducks head coach than he deserved. The question should be, “Is Cronin the guy moving forward?” I’m not sure, but the on ice results need to be better.

Can he develop these kids? He’s obviously not the coach for a new window, so that’s his whole gig. Our record is going to be terrible because the roster is terrible, W/L really isn’t on him. So it’s alarming to me how many of our young players stagnated or stepped backwards under him last season. I know, I know, injuries, load management, plus Minty looked really good. Mitigating circumstances and it’s not ALL bad news.

But there was a lot of bad news.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Cronin this year struck me as a guy who said a lot of the right things before and during the season like his knowledge of, awareness and potential usage of analytics.

I thought he seemed definitely stronger system-wise than Eakins during that time as well, and while the defensive structure looked a little better last year, it wasn't that much better and he seems to be a pretty conservative coach when it comes to offense - really hard to see him coaching a top 10 offensive team at any point.

So he seems to be aware of the right things but i'm not sure how good he is at implementing and using them. Also i thought he treated Zegras odd, idc how much some people may disagree.

 

[TopShelfWaterBottle]

I’m more interested in seeing what mcllvane can do with a decent roster he’s probably being groomed for the ducks next window

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I’m still not sure how anyone can critically and fairly judge Cronin after the injuries we had last season.

Trust me..I’ll be critical of him by mid-season if we’re still in the same spot

Given that a lot of the great coaches probably don't want to coach Anaheim, I think Cronin is OK coach for where the team currently is for now. When they start getting very close to playoffs they gotta replace him with a better coach for sure.

Eakins was good for when they needed a coach to keep everyone positive and upbeat during the tanking that Verbeek was doing for the bedard sweepstakes year. Now that they want to start improving they needed a coach who is gonna challenge the players and not being super soft and fuzzy like Eakins was.

That game where Cronin called out the Refs and the players responded by winning the game for Cronin despite the Refs kicking him out of the game cause he hurt the Refs feelings. That game earned my respect for him.

Hazy calling out the Refs hurt feelings was hilarious and Cronin getting fined later for that game was worth it to him I think that he ripped the Refs for their biased bs.Those Refs were soo pissed the Ducks came back and won that game, best game of the season for me.

 

[JAHV]

If I'm a captain or a crew member, I'd not want a person with me who cannot poop in space, tbh

Like @Static said, he also kind of admitted treatinv Zegras differently. That also I did not like.

You wouldn't, agreed. But you'd want even less the guy who didn't know how an airlock works.

Every good coach treats players differently because players are different. A good coach knows which things need to be enforced the same, which need to be tailored to individual players, and how to communicate the difference.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Every good coach treats players differently because players are different. A good coach knows which things need to be enforced the same, which need to be tailored to individual players, and how to communicate the difference.

Good coaches should coach players differently because the players are different. Don't ask the same thing of each of them. But it's important to treat them the same and not show favoritism. If one guy sits out a period for a stupid play/penalty, all players should suffer the same consequence. When only one guy gets benched for his bad/stupid play that's not good coaching.

 

[JAHV]

Good coaches should coach players differently because the players are different. Don't ask the same thing of each of them. But it's important to treat them the same and not show favoritism. If one guy sits out a period for a stupid play/penalty, all players should suffer the same consequence. When only one guy gets benched for his bad/stupid play that's not good coaching.

We've been over this before and I don't want to rehash it again, but we have no idea how Cronin has defined bad play for each individual. Without knowing that, we can't know if these guys have been treated unfairly.

Edit: Changed "differently" to "unfairly" in the last sentence.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

We've been over this before and I don't want to rehash it again, but we have no idea how Cronin has defined bad play for each individual. Without knowing that, we can't know if these guys have been treated differently.

If the very definition of “bad play” differs by individual then of course they’re being treated differently, that’s obvious.

 

[JAHV]

If the very definition of “bad play” differs by individual then of course they’re being treated differently, that’s obvious.

I edited the post to better reflect what I was trying to say. "Differently" is the wrong word there. Yes, they are being treated differently. But, if handled correctly, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

We've been over this before and I don't want to rehash it again, but we have no idea how Cronin has defined bad play for each individual. Without knowing that, we can't know if these guys have been treated unfairly.

Edit: Changed "differently" to "unfairly" in the last sentence.

Well, IMO, for all the stupidity Z shows on the ice, he's far from the only one doing so. You can hide behind the "we don't know how Cronin defines bad plays" excuse but if you're honest with yourself, plenty of guys looked like crap plenty of times during the year. Did anybody other than Z get sat out like he did?

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Good coaches should coach players differently because the players are different. Don't ask the same thing of each of them. But it's important to treat them the same and not show favoritism. If one guy sits out a period for a stupid play/penalty, all players should suffer the same consequence. When only one guy gets benched for his bad/stupid play that's not good coaching.

I get what you're saying. There is coaching differently per individual and upholding a common standard of play for all.

Kinda like being in school (grade or college). You got your A students, B students, etc... which identifies the different levels of talent and all in one class. Come assessing the production, whether be it a pop quiz or chapter test, whether be it paper or physical tests, whether be it mock or actual, a proper teacher will grade on the same level. If there is a grade curve, then all the students are graded upon that same curve.

Similarly, 1st line/1st pairing talents are A students, 2nd line/2nd pairing are B students, 3rd line and bottom pairing are C students, and 4th line are D students. They all know their roles on the club b/c that's what their talents allow. But if any player mess up on the common standard of play such as missing assignments, then that player, regardless of talent level, needs disciplining in some shape or form. And it needs to be applied equally across the board. I recall when Mac, Jones, and Comtois did something wrong (either at the end of their shift or on the bench), then Eakins scolded and benched all three for a period of time. Hazy and the video telecast showed all three of their faces looking solemn. That vision made me think of Huey, Dewey, and Louie on timeout.

 

[JAHV]

Well, IMO, for all the stupidity Z shows on the ice, he's far from the only one doing so. You can hide behind the "we don't know how Cronin defines bad plays" excuse but if you're honest with yourself, plenty of guys looked like crap plenty of times during the year. Did anybody other than Z get sat out like he did?

We don't know what Cronin communicated to these guys as to what the expectations were for their play and what the consequences would be if they didn't meet those expectations. Without that knowledge, we have no idea if Cronin is being inconsistent or not.

The proof will be in the pudding. If guys don't improve this season, if we see laziness and frustration on the ice (hard to measure), if guys start asking for trades, then we'll know that Cronin is handling these guys poorly.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

We don't know what Cronin communicated to these guys as to what the expectations were for their play and what the consequences would be if they didn't meet those expectations. Without that knowledge, we have no idea if Cronin is being inconsistent or not.

The proof will be in the pudding. If guys don't improve this season, if we see laziness and frustration on the ice (hard to measure), if guys start asking for trades, then we'll know that Cronin is handling these guys poorly.

Most of the games I watched towards the middle and end of the season just looked like the team did not give a shit. Low energy, lots of penalties, collapsing support, etc.

If Cronin was as 'inspirational' and 'great with young players' like Verbeek has said countless times, then the games would at least be entertaining. Sure, it's nice to see Carlsson and Zellweger get their chances

For some odd reason (even with Eakins) this team continuously gets outshot, and confused what to do when they are actually in the offensive zone.

I’m more interested in seeing what mcllvane can do with a decent roster he’s probably being groomed for the ducks next window

Next year? Sheesh. I don't think he's in line at all for the big club. He started out of the gate extremely poorly too. Not sure if its the talent he has, or the lack of talent he was given.

Of course PV is an awkward f*** so Cronin being weird in interviews should be expected lol.

What I loved the most this season was how he threw the players under the bus at times. I can't remember specifics, but they went through a long losing streak and his answer was something along the lines like: 'ask the guys, I have no answers'. Buddy, you are the coach!

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

We don't know what Cronin communicated to these guys as to what the expectations were for their play and what the consequences would be if they didn't meet those expectations. Without that knowledge, we have no idea if Cronin is being inconsistent or not.

The proof will be in the pudding. If guys don't improve this season, if we see laziness and frustration on the ice (hard to measure), if guys start asking for trades, then we'll know that Cronin is handling these guys poorly.

I agree with Hazy when he says the only tool a coach has to hold over players is ice time. Regardless of what is asked of each player, failure to produce should ultimately be reflected in ice time. This discussion is about whether everybody is being treated the same or not. There seems to be some debate.

The coach in you is working overtime to refuse to question Cronin on legitimate issues. What we see and hear during the season is fair game for debate and possible criticism.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

The lack of accountability on the vets is what really bothers me most about the Zegras thing.



Incredibly unprofessional here, which lead to nothing. Nobody called him out, he didn't lose any playing time. Just nothing.



Again.. Just an embarrassing effort from Gudas here.


These are the type of things that makes me wonder if the youth is tuning out the coaches because it seems like the vets have free range to do whatever they want. In the same season Zegras will take a hooking penalty and never see the ice again.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I dunno how I missed this, but Duck My Life pointed out that Verbeek wanted to mimic the Florida Panthers at the Orange Country thing with the rookies. The video should start with Duck My Life talking about it.

 

[JAHV]

I agree with Hazy when he says the only tool a coach has to hold over players is ice time. Regardless of what is asked of each player, failure to produce should ultimately be reflected in ice time. This discussion is about whether everybody is being treated the same or not. There seems to be some debate.

The coach in you is working overtime to refuse to question Cronin on legitimate issues. What we see and hear during the season is fair game for debate and possible criticism.

I feel like people are working overtime to blame Cronin for something that could very well be good coaching. I'm not sure he's a good NHL coach - the jury is very much still out - but we have no evidence that he treated Zegras unfairly.

 

[KelVarnsen]

I feel like people are working overtime to blame Cronin for something that could very well be good coaching. I'm not sure he's a good NHL coach - the jury is very much still out - but we have no evidence that he treated Zegras unfairly.

I think I have to disagree. I can recall at least twice where he benched Z for taking a stupid penalty only to keep playing vets who also took stupid penalties. Maybe he was trying to train Z to not take dumb penalties and figures the vets are past a learning part of their career. I am not sure but he absolutely benched Z for doing the exact same thing vets did all the while they didn’t get benched.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Maybe we just don’t have coaches…. Or captains

Just start our new era

“Anarchy in Anaheim”

 

[Mr Rogers]

Cronin might have had a worse year than Eakins ever had in Anaheim. He had more skill to work with, both coaches dealt with a lot of injuries yet somehow Cronin managed to oversee a team with just one more point this past season than in the one before (only because of a W in the final game).