"We're utterly disappointed": Jay Woodcroft gives his thoughts on the Oilers season

May 17 2023, 9:06 pm

Jay Woodcroft wasn’t hesitant to express his disappointment in the way the Edmonton Oilers’ season came to an end.

The Oilers bench boss met with reporters on Wednesday to discuss the feeling of coming up short in their quest for a Stanley Cup, three days after they were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I’m in it with our players, the coaching staff is in it with our players,” Woodcroft said. “We’re utterly disappointed that we’re not preparing for Round 3 today. Utterly disappointed.”

For the second straight year, Woodcroft helped lead the Oilers to surpass the 100-point barrier in the standings. The roster has certainly turned into a force in the regular season, but has continued to experience the same frustrations in the playoffs.

“You go through stages, the first one is feeling that way. The next one is learning how to repurpose that disappointment,” Woodcroft said. “The way you do that is by learning some lessons, and you use that experience to serve as your motivational fuel.”

Though the year came to an end quicker than Oilers’ players had envisioned, it seems that the roster won’t see a ton of change over the coming offseason, based on Ken Holland’s comments from earlier in the day. That likely bodes well for Woodcroft, who seems to have a great relationship with his players.

“I learned how much of an appreciation I have for being the head coach of this team, this organization. How much respect I have for our players. I can tell you that when we said goodbye to the group at large yesterday, that was the end of 236 days together, working together, grinding together. We all to a man felt that it was too early.”

Since being hired as their head coach in February of 2022, Woodcroft has helped lead the Oilers to a record of 76-32-12. With his core remaining intact, he should continue to have success with them next season, though it appears he and his group are much more concerned about a Stanley Cup than they are regular-season accolades.

Colton PankiwColton Pankiw

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