Ken Holland will not return to the Oilers

The Oilers and Ken Holland have mutually agreed not to renew the general manager’s contract, which expires Monday.

This decision is not a surprise, already last year at the end of the Oilers’ run in the playoffs, Ken Holland had suggested that he would not be back at the end of his contract.

Steve Staios was hired by the Oilers as a special advisor and was seen as a possible successor to Ken Holland. Plans changed when the Senators hired Staios as general manager.

There was an understanding between Ken Holland and I since I joined the teamsaid Jeff Jackson, president of the Oilers. We agreed that we were going to work together during the year and there was never any question on either side of a possible contract renewal.

Five busy years

Ken Holland joined the Oilers in May 2019. The team had just finished 25th overall.

In five seasons, he made several transactions to improve the team.

His first major decision was to trade Milan Lucic to the Flames for James Neal.

As the two teams traded problems, Neal responded with a 19-goal season.

In July 2021, he acquired defenseman Duncan Keith, trading Caleb Jones to the Blackhawks. Keith only played one season with the Oilers, but played a mentoring role to young Evan Bouchard.

A few days later, he sent Ethan Bear to the Hurricanes for Warren Foegele.

In March 2022, he traded with the Canadian for the services of Brett Kulak. In exchange the Oilers gave up William Lagesson as well as second and seventh round picks.

He made his best trade in February 2023 when he acquired Matthias Ekholm for Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer and a first-round pick.

His last big move was acquiring Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick in return for a first-round pick and a few other picks.

Zach Hyman, the jackpot

Under Ken Holland, the Oilers have not been the most active team on the free agent market.

Holland has tried to solve the goaltending problem on several occasions. When he arrived with the team, Mikko Koskinnen was the only goaltender under contract.

Holland first agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran Mike Smith who had just spent two seasons in Calgary.

Smith signed another one-season contract the following year, and another two-year contract in 2021.

After Smith left, Holland thought he had completely solved the Oilers’ netminder problems by signing Jack Campbell to a five-year deal. The experiment ultimately failed.

The signing of Zach Hyman in July 2021 was, without a doubt, Ken Holland’s best move with the Oilers. Since signing with the team, Hyman has had seasons of 27, 36 and 54 goals. He has four more years on his contract.

The discount signing ($5,125,000 per season for eight years) of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can also be considered one of Ken Holland’s good moves, as can the signing of striker Evander Kane.

Ken Holland also fired two coaches, Dave Tippett and Jay Woodcroft.

Jeff Jackson Interim

President of hockey operations Jeff Jackson says he has begun the search for a successor to Ken Holland, but the task is difficult because the majority of potential candidates are already employed by other teams and it is a busy time with the draft being held on Friday and Saturday.

Jackson will act in the interim while waiting to find the right candidate. I don’t have a specific timeline, but it’s my priorityassured Jeff Jackson, while adding that he did not intend to occupy the position on a permanent basis.

We have already been in contact with all of our players who will become free agents on July 1st and while we know we will not be able to bring them all back to Edmonton, we are hopeful that the majority of them will be back.

Jeff Jackson says he is aware that the Oilers have an old team, which is why he does not intend to offer long-term contracts to players who become free agents.

Rick Pracey, the director of amateur scouting, will be in charge of the Oilers’ draft. The Oilers have only six picks, one in the second round, one in the fifth round, two in the sixth round and two in the seventh round.

Jack Campbell et Leon Draisaitl

Regarding the matter of goaltender Jack Campbell, Jeff Jackson said that no decision had yet been made, but that the team was considering a possible contract buyout.

The goalie’s agreement, who spent the majority of last season in the American Hockey League, is still valid for three seasons. It is worth five million per season.

Jeff Jackson says he has not yet spoken with Mike Liut, Leon Draisaitl’s agent, but intends to do so in the coming days.

I believe the Draisaitl clan will like to wait for the appointment of a new general manager before officially beginning negotiations for a contract renewalsaid the man who will act as interim general manager.

Leon will undoubtedly want to know the direction the team intends to take before signing a new agreement.

The German player’s contract is still valid for one season, but the two parties can agree on the content of a new agreement as early as Monday, July 1.