Devils Would Be Smart to Interview Jay Woodcroft

Elliotte Friedman confirmed the New Jersey Devils have interviewed Todd McLellan, and they'd be smart to do the same with Jay Woodcroft

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The New Jersey Devils' coaching search has started gearing up over the last week. There have been rumors about Mike Sullivan's status with the Pittsburgh Penguins and whether he'll remain with the organization. There remains uncertainty with that situation, even after the Penguins fired assistant Todd Reirden, so we'll see how it unfolds. 

We also know the Devils have interviewed Todd McLellan, as Elliotte Friedman reported on the May 3 episode of 32 Thoughts. But other than those names and perhaps Craig Berube, we don't know much about the Devils' coaching search. 

One name they should consider is former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft. His tenure with the Oilers may have ended unceremoniously this season, but he's worth 100 percent worth bringing into the coaching search. 

Woodcroft's Oilers Tenure

Woodcroft coached the Oilers for 133 games but was only behind the bench for one full season (2022-23). He took over for Dave Tippett during the middle of 2021-22 and helped the Oilers turn their season around, eventually getting the team to the Western Conference Final. 

The Oilers went 26-9-3 under Woodcroft in 2021-22, and their five-on-five numbers improved from Tippett. They went from averaging 2.5 expected goals per 60 under Tippett to 2.9 under Woodcroft. Their expected goals share (xG%) jumped from 51.02 percent to 52.7 percent. 

That strong play carried over into the 2022-23 campaign, with the Oilers going 50-23-9 in Woodcroft's lone full season with the team. They were among the best five-on-five teams in the NHL, averaging 2.95 expected goals per 60 and finishing with an xG% of 53.67 percent. 

The Oilers' microstats also show why they were a strong team under Woodcroft in 2022-23. They were among the best in the NHL in possession entries, ranking in the top five. That shouldn't be surprising for a roster with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Nonetheless, they succeeded in that regard. 

While the Oilers were a very good offensive team under Woodcroft, they were just a middle-of-the-pack rush team offensively. I'm not too surprised by that because outside of McDavid and Draisaitl, they don't have the best forwards in transition. That's all you need when you have those two, though.