Jay Woodcroft reportedly a ‘leading candidate’ in Bruins head-coaching search
"I would say that you'd have to keep an eye on that as well.”
The dominos are starting to fall in the NHL’s annual head-coaching carousel.
Four teams have already accounted for their vacancies behind the bench — with the Rangers signing Mike Sullivan, the Ducks adding Joel Quenneville, the Canucks promoting Adam Foote, and the Flyers selecting Rick Tocchet as their head coach.
But the Bruins might also be parsing through their top coaching candidates at this stage of the offseason.
Speaking on Wednesday during the “Morning Cuppa Hockey” podcast, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said that former Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft has emerged as a “leading candidate” for Boston’s head-coaching vacancy this offseason.
“I think things have gone well for him there [in Boston],” Seravalli said of Woodcroft. “So I would say that you’d have to keep an eye on that as well.”
Woodcroft, 48, previously served as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers across three seasons from 2022-24. Taking over as interim head coach in 2022, Woodcroft led Edmonton to the Western Conference Finals that season — ultimately falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Avalanche.
In his lone full season as Edmonton’s bench boss in 2022-23, Woodcroft coached the Oilers to a 50-23-9 record (109 points) and won a round before losing to another eventual Stanley Cup champion in the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.
After Edmonton struggled out of the gate in 2023-24 with a 3-9-1 record, Woodcroft was fired by the Oilers in November.
Prior to his time as an NHL head coach, Woodcroft was head coach of Edmonton’s AHL affiliate — the Bakersfield Condors — for four seasons from 2018-22. Over that stretch, Bakersfield posted a combined record of 105-71-21.
Woodcroft also had plenty of experience as an assistant coach in the NHL ranks — spending seven years with the San Jose Sharks from 2008-15 before logging another three seasons with the Oilers from 2015-18.
While Woodcroft has yet to land another head-coaching role since getting let go by Edmonton, he noted last month that he has spent his hiatus traveling and learning from other hockey coaches across the globe.
“I’ve had a 20-year career with three different organizations, and I’ve not had that opportunity before,” Woodcroft told Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis in April. “So, I’ve really tried to invest in being the best that I can be. Study ways to get better. Look at things like communication. Look at things like how to improve team culture.
“Look at things like how to get better player buy-in or engagement. And so this time, while it’s not what I’m wired to do, I’m wired to work. I’m a passionate hockey person who loves the game. It’s been a positive experience in the sense that I’ve used my time wisely here to prepare for my next opportunity.”
It’s unclear how far along in the process the Bruins are in their head-coaching search. Last week, Don Sweeney acknowledged that Boston just started Zoom interviews before moving on to in-person meetings.
However, Sweeney also added that the Bruins were also waiting on a few head-coaching candidates still in the postseason, which could make assistants like Misha Donskov (Stars) or Mitch Love (Capitals) viable targets for Boston this summer.
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