Greg Cronin Addresses Years-Old Keith Yandle Incident

On the Dec. 10 edition of the Spittin Chiclets podcast, hosts Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Whitney were joined by former NHL defenseman Keith Yandle. Yandle played in over 1,000 games during his 17 seasons in the NHL.

Hailing from the Massachusetts area, Yandle recalled a story from when he was being recruited by colleges after de-committing from University of New Hampshire that involved current Ducks head coach Greg Cronin. Cronin was the head coach of Northeastern University at the time.

“At the time, I decommitted from UNH and I was on the open market and he was coaching Northeastern at the time,” Yandle said. “They call me over there, they bring me out to dinner, show me everything, ‘have a good night,’ whatever. Next day, I tell my mom—because my best friend Billy Ryan’s at Maine—‘I’m going to go to Maine. Bill’s at Maine, I’m going to go play with Bill. She’s like, ‘Alright, but you’ve got to call Northeastern and tell them that you’re not going to come there, do the right thing’. So I’m like, ‘OK, sure’.”

“I call him, he loses his mind on me for about 15 minutes. He’s like, ‘You piece of shit. You’re never going to play anywhere. You’re an absolute bum. I went to Maine, I know all those coaches. I’m calling them right now, you will not play one single game for that team’. He was losing his mind.”

When asked about this incident, Cronin said that it never happened and that he barely knows Yandle at all.

“I don't know Keith that well,” Cronin said. “He’s from the Quincy area in Boston, I think, but I've really never crossed his path.

“I never recruited him. I don't remember ever recruiting him. Never recall (doing that). I would never verbally berate anybody on a phone call on a recruiting thing. Never heard of it. I remember—it might have been my first year (at Northeastern)—I think that Brendan Walsh was my recruiter and I think he took them out on the recruiting visit, but I would never verbally berate a player for not going to a school. That's his decision. We present what Northeastern is and whether it's him or anybody else, if they choose not to go there, I've always demonstrated class and professionalism and wish them luck.”

“I remember when we used to play them in the NHL—I think he was an assistant coach or an eye in the sky for someone,” Yandle said. “He used to be on the bench during warmups and I’d look at him and be like, ‘Ugh’.

The recollections of Yandle and Cronin are stark contrasts. Which side one chooses to believe is up to the individual.