The Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in speaking to former Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft for the team’s vacant head coaching job.
The Leafs fired Craig Berube last week after the team missed the playoffs this past season. After new general manager John Chayka and senior advisor Mats Sundin took over, they promised they would do a complete evaluation of the entire organization. One of the changes the team decided to make was getting rid of Berube, and now they have to fill his spot behind the team’s bench.
Enter, potentially, Woodcroft. The former Oilers head coach is currently an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks, and after the Ducks had a terrific season — which included beating the Oilers in the first round — it is expected Woodcroft will receive head coaching interest around the league. That could very well include interest from Toronto, who need to fill Berube’s spot.
Leafs Interested In Jay Woodcroft
According to NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Leafs are interested in speaking to Woodcroft about their head coaching vacancy, though he noted that the team has not asked the Ducks for permission to speak to their assistant coach just yet.
“As Toronto continues to map out its search for a new Head Coach, one prospective candidate believed to be on their radar is Jay Woodcroft. The Leafs will need permission to speak with him, but as of today, they have not yet requested it from Anaheim,” Pagnotta wrote on X.
The Leafs reaching out to Woodcroft makes a lot of sense, as he is one of the top potential head coaching hires in this year’s cycle.
The 49-year-old Toronto native was the Oilers’ head coach from 2021 to 2023, going 79-41-13 in parts of three seasons for Edmonton. He made the playoffs in his first two seasons as the Oilers’ head coach, but after the team struggled to open up his third year behind the team’s bench, the Oilers fired him and replaced Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch, who himself was recently let go by Edmonton.
Since leaving Edmonton, Woodcroft joined the Ducks as an assistant coach to head coach Joel Quenneville. With the Ducks having had so much success this past season, it makes total sense why Woodcroft will be one of the coaches in hot demand for teams in need of a new HC.
Maple Leafs Need to Cast Their Coaching Net Wide
While interviewing Woodcroft makes a lot of sense, the Leafs need to cast their coaching net wide and make sure they get this next hire right, as it could help shape the future of this franchise.
The Leafs won the draft lottery and will be No. 1 overall, with Penn State U winger Gavin McKenna the likely choice with the pick. McKenna, or whoever else the team takes at No. 1, will be the future of the franchise, so they need to make sure the coach they hire is the right one for his development.
Woodcroft is a good start, but in addition, the team could be interested in former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy, University of Denver head coach David Carle, and many more. Whoever Chayka and Sundin end up hiring, however, they had better hit a home run with the hire, as a bad move behind the bench could be the final nail in the coffin for the team’s chances of keeping captain Auston Matthews in the blue and white long-term.
Leafs Interested in Former Oilers Head Coach