Jay Woodcroft among top candidates to land NHL coaching gig this summer

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Cooper Godin
July 12, 2024 (11:06)

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Jay Woodcroft has been without a job for eight months since being fired by the Edmonton Oilers early in the 2023-24 season, but he's in contention for a new gig.

There's only one head coaching vacancy left in the National Hockey League remaining and with nearly two months until training camps are set to open, the Columbus Blue Jackets seem poised to hire their new bench boss any day now.

According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Jay Woodcroft, along with former Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason are among the top candidates to land the Columbus Blue Jackets job.

Portzline said in an article on The Athletic this week that Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell has interviewed Dean Evason and Jay Woodcroft multiple times. Evason and Woodcroft also worked with Rick Nash, who is apart of the Blue Jackets' management staff, at the 2024 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Czechia back in May.

"Dean Evason, who coached the Minnesota Wild for parts of five seasons before he was fired early in 2023-24, has interviewed multiple times with Waddell and others in the Blue Jackets' front office. So has Jay Woodcroft, who coached the Edmonton Oilers for parts of three seasons before he, too, was fired early last season." Portzline said.

He added, "Interestingly, Evason and Woodcroft were assistant coaches together on Team Canada's entry at the IIHF World Championships this spring in Czechia. Blue Jackets development coach Rick Nash, who has taken on a larger role under Waddell, was the general manager of that club."

The Blue Jackets have been without a coach since June when Pascal Vincent was fired after just one season as their bench boss. Vincent was thrusted into the head coaching role in Columbus less than a month before the 2023-24 season after Mike Babcock resigned due to allegations he asked players to share personal photos with him from their mobile devices. Babcock was also investigated by the NHLPA before he announced he was leaving the Blue Jackets.

With the Columbus Blue Jackets wanting to take the next step in their rebuild/retool, it's going to be interesting to see who they decide to go with to lead the team behind the bench. Both Jay Woodcroft and Dean Evason are solid candidates for the job and the Blue Jackets would be lucky to land either.

Source: Aaron Portzline/The Athletic
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