He led the 1977–78 Red Wings to a 37-point improvement on their 16 win season the year previous, and a second-place finish in the Norris Division.
In 1961, Kromm took an underdog team from Trail, British Columbia to an Ice Hockey World Championships win over the Russians.
The team perceived Potter's statement as censuring the coach and was criticized as "unfair and unsportsmanlike".
[4][5] Kromm's son, Richard, played ten years in the NHL for the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.
Kromm died from complications of colorectal cancer one day after his 82nd birthday in Livonia, Michigan.