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Despite some growth from the team, another poor season has forced the Anaheim Ducks to move on from their head coach.
As such, the organization announced that head coach Greg Cronin will not return for the 2025-26 season.
Cronin still had a year left on his contract with the Ducks, marking the first head coach firing of the 2025 offseason.
The 2024-25 season was Cronin’s second year with the Ducks and his first-ever opportunity as an NHL head coach. Over his two years behind the bench in Anaheim, Cronin recorded a 62-87-15 record.
“I want to personally thank Greg for his tireless work and dedication to the team,” general manager Pat Verbeek said. “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 Ducks improved from 59 to 80 standings points from 2023-24 to 2024-25, but that wasn’t enough to keep Cronin around for the duration of his contract.
Before becoming an NHL head coach, Cronin coached at the colligate level, leading the Maine Black Bears and Northeastern Huskies. Cronin went on to hold assistant jobs at the NHL level with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders.
In 2018, Cronin took up a head coaching job with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles.
Cronin has nearly 40 years of coaching experience under his belt at various levels of hockey and in different positions behind the bench. Depending on how the rest of the summer plays out with coaches across the NHL, Cronin could still be in consideration for another NHL-level job.
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Steelers reporter shares big claim about how Aaron Rodgers has looked in training camp
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent the bulk of the spring as an unsigned free agent and, thus, only began officially practicing with Pittsburgh Steelers teammates during the team's three-day mandatory minicamp in June. During a Monday appearance on Pittsburgh radio station 102.5 WDVE, Steelers reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addressed how Rodgers looked during his first few training camp practices with the club. "His release is just astonishing to watch," Dulac said about Rodgers, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "Everybody knows about it, and when you see it in person, you see it every day in practice, you just marvel at it. To me, he's the greatest thrower of the football I have ever seen, even at 41 (years old). That flick of that wrist and that ball comes out, it's moving and it is something to see." Rodgers was with the New York Jets when he suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the 2023 regular-season opener. He was then slowed by a nagging hip issue, injuries to both his knees, a low ankle sprain and a serious hamstring problem as the 2024 Jets went 5-12. According to Pro Football Reference, Rodgers finished last season ranked 28th in the NFL among qualified players with a 48.0 adjusted QBR and 26th with a 43.9 percent passing success rate. That said, he was also eighth with 3,897 passing yards and tied for seventh with 28 passing touchdowns. Rodgers and Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson endured some struggles during training camp sessions last summer before the two allegedly "never saw eye-to-eye" during the season. It sounds like Pittsburgh fans should be encouraged by how Rodgers performed in recent practices. "That guy can get rid of the ball as quick as anybody," Dulac added. "He made three throws in seven-on-seven (drills) the other day that the cumulative total I bet couldn't have exceeded 2.1 seconds. And two of those were for touchdowns." Rodgers wants to finish his career "the right way" and help the Steelers notch at least their first playoff win since January 2017. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Pittsburgh at -150 betting odds to miss the playoffs for the upcoming season.
Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg dies after battle with cancer
Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg lost his battle with cancer on Monday. He was 65. A 20th-round selection by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1978 MLB Draft, Sandberg quickly moved through the Phillies system despite his humble beginnings. He made his major league debut at the end of the 1981 season, getting six plate appearances in 13 games, his only hit coming off of a bat he borrowed from shortstop Larry Bowa. Drafted as a shortstop, the Phillies hoped that Sandberg would be the heir apparent for Bowa. However, that 13-game stint convinced the Phillies that he was not the answer. Although Sandberg had played at second and third as well in the minors, he was blocked at those positions by Manny Trillo and Mike Schmidt respectively. Bowa and Sandberg were traded to the Cubs during the 1981-82 offseason, with shortstop Ivan DeJesus heading to Philadelphia. Sandberg, now a second baseman, had a solid first two seasons in Chicago before exploding into stardom in 1984. He posted a .314/.367/.520 batting line in his 700 plate appearances, hitting 19 homers and 36 doubles while stealing 32 bases as he led the Cubs to their first postseason berth since 1945. Sandberg made his first All-Star Game, was named the NL MVP, won a Silver Slugger and his second Gold Glove award. A perennial All-Star, Sandberg possessed a combination of power and speed at second base that was rare for his era. He was a 10-time All-Star, winning nine Gold Gloves and seven Silver Sluggers. Sandberg posted a lifetime .285/.344/.452 batting line in his 9282 plate appearances, hitting 282 homers and 403 doubles while stealing 344 bases. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame 2005 in his third year on the ballot. After a decade away from the game, Sandberg returned as a minor league manager in the Cubs system in 2007, moving up the ladder to Triple-A in 2009. After Cubs manager Mike Quade was fired, and Sandberg was passed over for the opening, he joined the Phillies organization in 2011. After three years in the Phillies organization, he became the interim manager in 2013, and was eventually hired full-time at the end of the season. Sandberg lasted just over two years in total as the Phillies manager, resigning after 74 games in 2015 as the losses piled up. He remained in the game as a goodwill ambassador for the Cubs before announcing that he had prostate cancer in 2024. Although his cancer had gone into remission, it returned in December, spreading to other organs before Sandberg ultimately lost his battle. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of Sandberg during this difficult time.
Cubs in danger of making enormous trade-deadline mistake
Boasting a 62-44 record in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs are still searching for a way to pull ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers took sole possession of first place in the division from the Cubs in an 8-4 win on Monday. Chicago will get its chance before the three-game set is over, but if the Cubs should fall to the Brewers, the trade deadline will be viewed as essential for their World Series chances. Several rumors of Chicago’s interest in starters, relievers and third basemen have swirled nonstop. And while they have shown interest in several quality names — Mitch Keller, Eugenio Suárez, MacKenzie Gore — some of their other trade targets are less than ideal. Among their worst sources of interest (if not, the worst) is struggling Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias, who is in his walk year. Hiding behind his shining 2.99 career ERA is a rather shocking, career-high 4.97 ERA, to which he has pitched this season. He is still a strikeout pitcher, having accumulated 46 Ks in 41.2 innings, but his run prevention capabilities have seemingly deteriorated. It was only last season when Iglesias posted a stellar 1.95 ERA. Since then, his home run total doubled, from surrendering just four last year to eight so far this year. His opponent batting average has also jumped, from .160 to .250. Iglesias is no stranger to success. He threw to ERAs south of 3.00 in eight of his 11 MLB years. However, this season, he just doesn’t appear to have it. Any team that trades for Iglesias in the last year of his contract would be betting that he can return to elite form before the season is over. Taking a risk on a pitcher like Iglesias in his current condition, especially when there are several other more reliable arms on the market, would be ill-advised. And for the Cubs, who are in a win-now position, having secured one guaranteed year of Kyle Tucker, taking a gamble on Iglesias could easily risk everything they worked for this season.
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