It’s never too early to hear the music coming from the coaching carousel.
Though we’re not even through a full round of the playoffs — and as it stands on Monday only the New York Rangers have made it through to the second round — rumours for coaching openings on teams that missed the dance are already in full swing.
So far, the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues are on the lookout for a new coach and a couple of well-known names have already started flying around.
Notably, a familiar face to Oilers fans has popped up following his inclusion on the coaching staff for the senior men’s national team as they head to Prague for the IIHF Hockey World Championship.
Former head coach Jay Woodcroft is apparently looking to get his feet wet once again after being let go by Edmonton earlier this season.
On Monday’s edition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the San Jose Sharks search for a new coach has brought them back to people who have connections to the organization, Woodcroft being one of them.
“San Jose does like the tie-ins to people that have been there. That’s one of the reasons they really like Mike Grier,” Friedman explained. “They wanted someone that identifies. Strong identification with the market is important to them. …
“Jay Woodcroft is one. The former Edmonton coach is a long-time assistant in San Jose. Spent seven seasons there as an assistant coach.”
He was brought in as an assistant in 2008 under former head coach Todd McLellan after spending the first three years of his coaching career as a video coordinator with the Detroit Red Wings. When the Sharks parted ways with McLellan in 2015, Woodcroft was also part of the dismissal. He would up with the Oilers, where he spent the next eight years of his career in various roles.
Woodcroft made an appearance on the Real Kyper and Bourne on Monday afternoon to talk about his selection to Andre Tourigny’s Canadian coaching staff and what life has been like since his dismissal in Edmonton, particularly about how he’s put his downtime to use to better improve his future prospects behind an NHL bench.
“Got some great advice from mentors around the league … They said you’ve been doing this for 20 years straight, going 100 miles an hour. It’s okay to take a deep breath and really spend some quality family time that’s something I really dug into,” Woodcroft said when asked about his hiatus from coaching.
“Right around January when the calendar flipped, I was eager to flex some hockey muscles and eager to be around the game a little bit more.”
To best use that time, Woodcroft spent the winter and early spring months in Europe, helping out two unnamed coaching staffs and building up his resume and scope of inspiration in time for a potential new job back in the NHL or “wherever and whenever that might be.”
For now, his longtime experience will be put to use on the national stage as Canada prepares to take on the world at the World Championship in May. He joins another head coach dismissed this past season in Dean Evason, formerly the bench boss for the Minnesota Wild.
The lack of job security when it comes to coaching in the NHL isn’t something that bothers Woodcroft, however. The 47-year-old has been in the league for a long time and has seen just how quickly jobs come and go and is more than willing to incur that risk once again.
“What a crazy business we’re in. Was reading something, 16 to 17 coaches replaced in the last year or so,” Woodcroft said, highlighting how short leashes can be throughout the league. “We’re all big boys, we know what we sign up for. It’s just part of what we do.
“Certainly for me, I’m anxious to have good conversations with people that look to talk to me, but right now my focus and concentration is on helping our country win a gold medal in Prague.”
Though nothing is close to being set in stone, things are starting to move on the NHL’s coaching carousel, and as former bench bosses hone their resumes and prepare for interviews, the work Woodcroft has put in since his departure from the Oilers could put him firmly in line for some job opportunities this summer.
