For better or worse we're in the Cronin era now. With the roster the GM has built the yardstick for measuring the coach is whether the young players are progressing. We hear about accountability....ehhh, I don't know about that. In some ways prospects are exempt from the ice time motivator because you have to balance their confidence and growing abilities against what their efforts and effectiveness might otherwise deserve. But overall I can't really point to much tangible evidence of actual accountability for poor play. And I worry that his approach has strangled the skill of our most creative players but I can't prove that either. But McTavish has made obvious strides this year, Minty, Dostal, Luneau, LaCombe, and especially Carlsson all look or have at times looked very good. Cronin's not at fault for the stupid load management regime. On this score, he probably earns good marks.
And it would be ridiculous to dump him just half a season in based on the record. Beyond that, there's also no way to be sure to what extent the team's struggles are his fault since they sucked last year too (and the year before, and the year before). Sure, his answers in this scrum aren't great but they're at least candid and seem honest. It wouldn't be shocking if he's doing a bad job since he's a 60-something rookie coach whom no one has ever bothered to hire for the top gig before -- maybe there's a reason for that. So it's fair to speculate.
TLDR: the team is bad because the roster's bad (PV's fault), and whether Cronin is doing a good job at developing prospects with that obvious handicap is open to interpretation. I think he probably is but I worry that his philosophy is a drag on Terry and Z. It doesn't help that the team is boring and listless.
