Toronto Maple Leafs Would Hit a Home Run by Hiring Jay Woodcroft

The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering a very pivotal summer. After trading Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights last offseason, the Maple Leafs had a 30-point decline in the NHL standings and missed the playoffs for the first time in Auston Matthews’ career. As a result, big changes have been made.

The Maple Leafs made the decision to fire Brad Treliving as their general manager (GM), and went on to replace him with John Chayka. Shortly after being hired, Chayka announced that Craig Berube had been relieved of his coaching duties, meaning that the search for a new bench boss has begun.

There have been several candidates linked to the Maple Leafs’ coaching vacancy, and it’s a job many would love to land. Despite their regression this past season, this is a team with plenty of talent up and down the roster. They will have even more talent in the lineup next season after winning the first-overall pick in the draft lottery earlier this month.

Despite there being plenty of candidates, however, one name stands out as a better fit than the rest. That would be Jay Woodcroft, who hasn’t had a head coaching opportunity since being fired by the Edmonton Oilers early into the 2023-24 season. While not the most experienced man available, he’s the perfect fit for the Maple Leafs.

Woodcroft is Everything the Maple Leafs Need

Compared to what they had in Berube, Woodcroft would be a breath of fresh air for Maple Leafs players. He’s much more of a player-friendly coach, though he knows when to push buttons at the right time. Part of that stems from his age, as he’s still just 49 years old and is able to relate well with today’s generation of athletes.

Woodcroft meshed well with the Oilers’ stars during his tenure behind the bench, and it showed by the results. In the 133 games he coached over parts of three seasons, he put together a record of 79-41-13. That includes a 3-9-1 record to begin the 2023-24 campaign which resulted in his firing. In other words, outside of one tough stretch to end his tenure, this guy did a whole lot of winning.

It’s worth noting that the Oilers have never been a better team offensively than they were under Woodcroft. In his only full season behind the bench in 2022-23, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and even Darnell Nurse posted what remain career-high point totals.

After taking some time off following his firing in Edmonton, Woodcroft joined the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. Given the success of the Ducks this season, Woodcroft’s name has been linked to several coaching positions across the NHL. Should a team come calling, it sounds as though the organization would have no issue letting him pursue the opportunity.

“I would never hold a coach back from getting a head coaching job,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek recently told reporters. “There’s only 32 of them. That’s the pinnacle of his profession so I would never hold him back from that.”

In other words, the Maple Leafs have the Ducks’ blessing should they wish to pursue the opportunity. While Chayka hasn’t revealed which direction he may be leaning, hiring Woodcroft would be a decision that should make the fan base happy.

Time for Some New Blood

Too many times in the NHL we seem to see recycling of the same coaches over and over. At some point, younger individuals need to be given the opportunity, and though Woodcroft was given a brief shot in Edmonton, it wasn’t the true run he deserves. His winning percentage in his short Oilers tenure is proof that he knows exactly what he’s doing, and the way in which he goes about delivering his messages would sit much better with the Maple Leafs stars than it had under Berube.