Ex-Oilers GM Ken Holland hasn't retired, wants to work: report
Former Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland is not ready to call it a career, according to a new report.
After mutually parting ways with the Oilers organization shortly after Edmonton was eliminated in the Stanley Cup Final, the prevailing thought was that the 68-year-old executive would sail off into retirement.
Yet the opposite appears to be true. Reports broke last week that Holland was in Utah to watch the newest NHL team’s training camp, but it didn’t appear he was working with the club in any official capacity.
On the latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading segment, Darren Dreger reported that Holland is ready to get back to work and is not picky about the type of role he’ll have.
“Let me tell you this, he still has tons of energy and he still is motivated by the juice of the game, but it has to be the right fit,” Dreger said of Holland.
“I look at hockey operations bosses in Canada like Jimmy Rutherford in Vancouver, what about Jeff Gorton of the Montreal Canadiens, I think Kenny Holland would be keenly interested in a job like that, maybe another GM opportunity.”
Holland certainly has a sparkling resume for any team looking to hire a hockey executive with plenty of success. He won four Stanley Cups as the GM of the Detroit Red Wings between 1997 and 2019 before building a perennial contender in Edmonton and coming just one win shy of his fifth Stanley Cup this past season.
Dreger did point out that Holland would not be interested in joining a rebuilding organization, which may take Utah out of the running. Still, if a role pops up with one of the NHL’s contending teams, he may poke his head back into the league sooner rather than later.
The NHL hasn’t had a season without Holland as the GM of a team since 1996, and it appears that streak may continue if the wily veteran has his way.
Only time will tell.