Jay Woodcroft to join Ducks as assistant coach

Woodcroft will join new Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville on the bench in Orange County, as the two will look to guide the struggling team to a hopefully brighter future.

Woodcroft has been out of work in the NHL since he was fired by the Oilers in November 2023 after the team had a rough start to last season. Kris Knoblauch came in and helped turn the team around, eventually coaching the team to its first of two consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final.

This will be the first time in a decade that Woodcroft will be working for an NHL organization not named the Oilers. Starting as an assistant coach in Edmonton in 2015, the Toronto native spent parts of nine seasons with the franchise. He spent four years as the head coach of the Oilers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, before taking on the top job in Edmonton halfway through the 2021-22 season after Dave Tippett was canned.

This won’t be the first time Woodcroft has worked in California. From 2008-15, he served under Todd McLellan as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks, before the duo moved to Edmonton. Woodcroft was also part of the Detroit Red Wings staff for three seasons after the 2004-05 lockout, working as a video coach.