Flyers Hosting Former Oilers Coach at Training Camp: ‘He’s Trying to Get Better’

One of the more minor but most surprising storylines from Philadelphia Flyers training camp has been the continued presence of former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft.

Woodcroft, 48, served as the Oilers’ bench boss for parts of three seasons, compiling a 79-41-13 record in 133 regular season games before getting dismissed by Edmonton on the heels of a dismal 3-9-1 start last season.

No moves are imminent on the Flyers’ part, though. In fact, Woodcroft is here at camp solely to watch and try to hone his craft; he was watching from the fan areas and enjoying a coffee when I arrived for Day 3 of training camp on Saturday.

The Toronto, Ont., native reached out to Flyers head coach John Tortorella to spectate as a guest, which was a request Tortorella approved and appreciated.

“He contacted me a couple of months ago,” Tortorella explained. “I think he’s gone overseas. He’s trying to get better . . . It’s a coach trying to get better. And I think in the coaching fraternity, I used to do it as a young coach myself, just reach out and try to see if I could just view a practice and maybe sit down and talk a little bit.

“So I think that’s just a young man that has no job right now, trying to use his time correctly, to try to be better. So I’m all in on that.”

Fans may recall that Woodcroft is only one season removed from a 50-23-9 season with Edmonton that easily qualified them for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but his record in the postseason was less impressive. Through 28 career playoff games behind the bench with the Oilers, Woodcroft and his troops only managed a 14-14 record.

The back-to-back second-round exits and higher expectations ultimately played a big role in Woodcroft’s undoing with the Oilers, though the 48-year-old is hard at work trying to get back on his feet in the NHL.

Flyers assistant coach Rocky Thompson likely played a role in getting Woodcroft into the building, as Thompson and Woodcroft coached against each other at the AHL level in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Or, maybe Woodcroft just wanted to see Matvei Michkov play like the rest of us.