Ken Holland’s time as the general manager (GM) of the Edmonton Oilers appears to be finished.
There had been rumblings regarding Holland’s future with the team all season long, as he was in the final year of a five-year deal signed back in May of 2019. As per TSN’s Darren Dreger, he will not be back with the Oilers in any role next season.
“Our understanding is that Ken Holland will not be back with the Oilers,” Dreger said. “His contract expires, perhaps he wants to move on to new challenges or retirement.”
Yesterday, Dreger had reported that he believed there was a different position with the Oilers available to Holland, but it now seems as though his time with the organization is over entirely.
When Holland was hired, the Oilers had missed the playoffs two years in a row, and many worried how much longer Connor McDavid would want to stick around. The 68-year-old helped change that, leading the Oilers into the playoffs all five seasons he was in Edmonton, while making some key acquisitions in players like Zach Hyman and Mattias Ekholm along the way.
Holland was also able to get one of the Oilers’ top players in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins signed to an eight-year deal prior to the 2021-22 season, with a team-friendly cap hit of $5.125 million.
Of course, Holland does have his fair share of detractors for some questionable moves as well, perhaps most notably choosing to sign Darnell Nurse to an eight-year, $74 million deal that still has six seasons remaining.
The fact of the matter is that no GM is going to hit on every single move, and Holland certainly didn’t. What he did do is help turn them into the Stanley Cup contender everyone hoped they could be with McDavid, and he deserves credit for that. Now, the search is on for the Oilers to replace him with someone they believe can help them reach their ultimate goal.
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