The Anaheim Ducks have found their next head coach and it&#8217;s not <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/10/22/former-oilers-coach-jay-woodcroft-reflects-on-his-time-in-edmonton-i-saw-the-team-on-the-cusp/">Jay Woodcroft</a>.

The former <a href="http://oilersnation.com/stats">Edmonton Oilers</a> head coach was passed over for another job, according to ESPN&#8217;s Emily Kaplan, as the Ducks hired Joel Quenneville. Rick Tocchet was another finalist for the job.
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The Ducks are hiring Joel Quenneville as head coach, as <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DarrenDreger</a> first reported. David Carle had a two day interview before extending with DU. Jay Woodcroft &amp; Rick Tocchet were other final candidates.
Anaheim did an extensive search into Quenneville’s role in Blackhawks…
&mdash; Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) <a href="https://twitter.com/emilymkaplan/status/1920497574710018241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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It&#8217;s not the first time Woodcroft has been passed over since the Oilers fired him in November 2023 as last fall when the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Dean Evason over him. Last April, he was also connected to a then-vacant head coaching spot with the <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/could-former-oilers-head-coach-jay-woodcroft-be-a-candidate-for-sharks-job/">San Jose Sharks</a> and a month later, loosely to the <a href="https://www.nj.com/devils/2024/05/devils-interviewed-sharks-assistant-for-head-coach-opening-nhl-sources-say.html">New Jersey Devils</a>.
Woodcroft has been linked by Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Jeff Marek to the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/jay-woodcroft-todd-nelson-possibilities-nhl-coaching-vacancies">vacant spot in Philadelphia</a>, while Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Frank Seravalli felt that with so many open spots, it would be <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/nhl-notebook-jay-woodcroft-interviews-anaheim-ducks-other-ex-edmonton-oilers-coaches-could-land-jobs">hard to imagine him not landing one</a>.
<blockquote>“It will be a real shock if Woodcroft doesn’t get another crack during this coaching cycle. He makes the cut in this tier of coaches simply because of his record. If you lop off the 3-9-1 start that got him canned in Edmonton, his .683 points percentage is the third-highest in NHL history of any coach with at least one full year at the helm. He’s won at least one round in both of his playoff appearances and he did it in a red-hot Canadian market. And at 48, Woodcroft is the youngest guy in this tier, someone who can connect with and relate to the younger generation of today’s players.”</blockquote>
Since leaving the Oilers organization, Woodcroft has spent time travelling the world to learn from other coaching staffs — as well as spending some time at the Flyers&#8217; training camp last year — to stay up on coaching techniques.
Woodcroft got his start in coaching with the Detroit Red Wings as a video coach in 2005-06, holding the role for three years before following Todd McLellan to the San Jose Sharks as an assistant coach where the pair worked from 2008-09 through 2014-15. The pair then arrived in Edmonton in 2015-16 in the same roles, but ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Oilers named him the head coach of the AHL&#8217;s Bakersfield Condors, where he did great work developing young prospects for the organization.
When Dave Tippett was fired by the Oilers in February 2022, he was named head coach, holding the role through November 2023.
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Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QX_QCiZyIo&amp;list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
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The Anaheim Ducks have found their next head coach and it's not <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/10/22/former-oilers-coach-jay-woodcroft-reflects-on-his-time-in-edmonton-i-saw-the-team-on-the-cusp/">Jay Woodcroft</a>.



The former <a href="http://oilersnation.com/stats">Edmonton Oilers</a> head coach was passed over for another job, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, as the Ducks hired Joel Quenneville. Rick Tocchet was another finalist for the job.
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https://twitter.com/emilymkaplan/status/1920497574710018241

It's not the first time Woodcroft has been passed over since the Oilers fired him in November 2023 as last fall when the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Dean Evason over him. Last April, he was also connected to a then-vacant head coaching spot with the <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/could-former-oilers-head-coach-jay-woodcroft-be-a-candidate-for-sharks-job/">San Jose Sharks</a> and a month later, loosely to the <a href="https://www.nj.com/devils/2024/05/devils-interviewed-sharks-assistant-for-head-coach-opening-nhl-sources-say.html">New Jersey Devils</a>.

Woodcroft has been linked by Daily Faceoff's Jeff Marek to the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/jay-woodcroft-todd-nelson-possibilities-nhl-coaching-vacancies">vacant spot in Philadelphia</a>, while Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli felt that with so many open spots, it would be <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/nhl-notebook-jay-woodcroft-interviews-anaheim-ducks-other-ex-edmonton-oilers-coaches-could-land-jobs">hard to imagine him not landing one</a>.
<blockquote>“It will be a real shock if Woodcroft doesn’t get another crack during this coaching cycle. He makes the cut in this tier of coaches simply because of his record. If you lop off the 3-9-1 start that got him canned in Edmonton, his .683 points percentage is the third-highest in NHL history of any coach with at least one full year at the helm. He’s won at least one round in both of his playoff appearances and he did it in a red-hot Canadian market. And at 48, Woodcroft is the youngest guy in this tier, someone who can connect with and relate to the younger generation of today’s players.”</blockquote>
Since leaving the Oilers organization, Woodcroft has spent time travelling the world to learn from other coaching staffs — as well as spending some time at the Flyers' training camp last year — to stay up on coaching techniques.

Woodcroft got his start in coaching with the Detroit Red Wings as a video coach in 2005-06, holding the role for three years before following Todd McLellan to the San Jose Sharks as an assistant coach where the pair worked from 2008-09 through 2014-15. The pair then arrived in Edmonton in 2015-16 in the same roles, but ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Oilers named him the head coach of the AHL's Bakersfield Condors, where he did great work developing young prospects for the organization.

When Dave Tippett was fired by the Oilers in February 2022, he was named head coach, holding the role through November 2023.

<hr />

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QX_QCiZyIo&amp;list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at <a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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