Toronto Maple Leafs management is searching for a new head coach after firing Craig Berube two weeks earlier. Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft is expected to interview with Toronto this week. Woodcroft previously coached Connor McDavid and led Edmonton to a 79-41-13 regular-season record between 2022 and 2023. He took over as interim coach in February 2022 after Dave Tippett was fired and later became head coach on an extension. Under his leadership, Edmonton reached the conference finals in 2022 and the second round in 2023, despite inconsistent goaltending and a defense featuring Darnell Nurse, Tyson Barrie, Evan Bouchard, and Cody Ceci.
"One of those options will be due for an interview with Toronto this week in former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft, as reported by NHL insider Frank Seravalli. So could Woodcroft turn out to be the Maple Leafs saviour going forward?"
"With the 49-year-old former coach allowing McDavid to dazzle at will during his time with Edmonton, he led the Oilers to a superb 79-41-13 record overall during the regular season between 2022 and 2023. Woodcroft had taken over the Edmonton bench as the interim coach in February of 2022 when they fired Dave Tippett during a rough stretch in their schedule."
"Nevertheless, the 49-year-old mastermind would lead Edmonton to two consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff berths, reaching all the way to the conference finals in 2022 and the second round in 2023. So technically, the Woodcroft-led Oilers team made it further into the playoffs in those two seasons than the Leafs have for the past two decades."
"More importantly, he was able to do it with the likes of Mikko Koskinen, an aging Mike Smith, a raw Stuart Skinner and a struggling Jack Campbell as their main goalies. At the same time, the Oilers had a defense led by the likes of Darnell Nurse, Tyson Barrie, Evan Bouchard and Cody Ceci."
Read at Editor In Leaf
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