After six seasons behind the bench with the Northeastern University hockey team, Greg Cronin is returning to the NHL.
The 48-year-old Cronin was named an assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday in a statement released on the Leafs' official website. He will be a member of head coach Ron Wilson's staff.
This will be Cronin's third coaching stint at the professional level. He was an assistant with the New York Islanders from 1998 to 2003 and served as head coach of the AHL's Bridgeport Tigers from 2003 to 2005. A native of Arlington, Cronin took the head gig in 2005 at Northeastern, the same school for which his father, Don, and uncle, Gerry, played for in the 1950s.
After a difficult three-win campaign in his first season on Huntington Ave., Cronin turned things around for NU, leading the school to its fourth NCAA Tournamant in 2009. The squad's 25-12-4 record earned him recognition as the Bob Kullen Hockey East Coach of the Year.
In six seasons Cronin compiled an overall record of 84-104-29. In the last four seasons, the Huskies have won a total of 71 games, the most wins in a four-year stretch in program history. In addition to the NCAA Tournament appearance, Northeastern also reached the Hockey East semifinals twice and the Beanpot championship game twice.
Cronin has been busy working with the U.S. National Team as well. This summer he was an assistant coach for Team U.S.A. at the World Hockey Championship. He has also served as an assistant coach for two U.S. National Junior Teams in 1997 and 1998.
"I want to thank Greg for the incredible work he has done on behalf of this university and our student-athletes," Northeastern Athletics Director Peter Roby said in a release on the school's official athletics site. "Greg has been a tireless worker, both on and off the ice. He has taken our hockey program to new heights. He's advanced our relationships with alumni and friends of the program. And he's helped reshape our arena into one of the finest hockey venues in the nation."
Assistant coach Sebastien Laplante will serve as Northeastern's interim coach while a national search for a replacement is conducted. Laplante served as head coach for six games in February after Cronin was suspended for NCAA violations regarding telephone and text-message contact with prospective student-athletes. Laplante was 2-2-2 in those six games.
