Woodcroft Enjoying His Summer and Offseason
Like all NHL players and head coaches, the summer provides a time for rest, healing, and reflection on the past six to eight months of work. Some teams use this period to identify areas for improvement and make changes during the offseason. Others savour the offseason, whether they have won the Stanley Cup or had a successful playoff run.
In the case of Jay Woodcroft, the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, it seems he is embracing his offseason while enjoying some time on his boat and the pleasant weather.
Jay Woodcroft started his NHL coaching career in 2005 as a video coach for the Detroit Red Wings. He has also worked for the San Jose Sharks before joining the Edmonton Oilers organization. Woodcroft began his tenure with the Oilers in 2015 as an assistant coach, a position he held for three years.
In 2018, he became the head coach of the Bakersfield Condors and led them to win the Calder Cup in the 2020-2021 season. The Oilers decided to part ways with Dave Tippett, Woodcroft was hired as the head coach in 2021. He has had highly successful seasons and guided the Oilers to the conference finals once in his two-year tenure.
In his 120 games coaching the Oilers, Woodcroft has an impressive record of 76 wins, 32 losses and 12 overtime losses. It gives him a remarkable .683 winning percentage, making him the second-best NHL head coach since his appointment in 2022.
