- Frank Seravalli reports Toronto will interview Anaheim Ducks assistant Jay Woodcroft this week for their head coaching vacancy
- The 49-year-old Toronto native is “one of the front runners” for the Leafs job, per Seravalli
- Read below for video of Woodcroft on the interview process, his NHL résumé, and where the Leafs’ search stands
Jay Woodcroft is heading to Toronto for a head coaching interview with the Maple Leafs this week.
Frank Seravalli reports the Anaheim Ducks assistant will sit down with new GM John Chayka as part of Toronto’s “wide and deep” hunt for Craig Berube’s replacement, per The Hockey News. The 49-year-old Toronto native already met with the Los Angeles Kings last week, and Seravalli calls Woodcroft “one of the front runners” for the Leafs gig.
This is a homecoming pitch on top of a job pitch. Woodcroft grew up in Toronto and has spent the past two seasons waiting for his second shot at running an NHL bench. He has been Joel Quenneville’s right hand in Anaheim since last July, running the Ducks’ power play.
Watch Woodcroft break down how he handles the interview process on Daily Faceoff’s Frankly Speaking, in a video recorded last spring after his Edmonton firing:
On paper, the case is strong. Woodcroft posted a 79-41-13 record in two-plus seasons with the Oilers, including a Western Conference Final run in 2022 and a franchise-best 50-23-9 record the following year. Edmonton fired him 13 games into 2023-24 after a 3-9-1 start, and the team that replaced him with Kris Knoblauch went on back-to-back Cup Finals.
Chayka took over as Leafs GM less than a month ago, inheriting a roster that allowed the second-most goals in the NHL and missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. He also holds the No. 1 overall pick at next month’s draft.
Toronto paired Chayka with Mats Sundin as senior executive advisor of hockey operations earlier this month:
Seravalli pegs the reported field at up to 20 names, mostly over Zoom, with finalists getting pulled in for in-person sit-downs around the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo next week. Bruce Cassidy and David Carle are among the other names that have surfaced in Toronto’s search.
Combine week is the next checkpoint.
