EDMONTON– Ken Holland will not return as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers once his five-year contract expires on July 1.
Holland and the Oilers mutually agreed to part ways Thursday, according to Edmonton hockey operations CEO Jeff Jackson, who will serve as interim general manager while the search for a permanent replacement is led.
“It’s been a real pleasure working with Ken, he’s a fantastic human being as you all know,” Jackson said via Zoom from the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas on Thursday. “When I met with Ken yesterday to formalize a discussion that was ongoing this season, it’s no surprise to Ken or me that we mutually decided this was the best thing to do.
“He was ready to move on and we’re going to go in a different direction. We had a great hour-long meeting and as you know, Ken, we laughed a lot and talked about different things and reminisced about the season. So from that standpoint, I just want to thank Ken for everything he’s done, both personally and professionally, with me and our staff this year.”
The Oilers have qualified for the NHL playoffs every season under Holland, who was named general manager and president of hockey operations on May 7, 2019.
Edmonton was eliminated in the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020, lost in the first round to the Winnipeg Jets in 2021, lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 and to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round in 2023 before reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals this season, losing to the Florida Panthers.
Prior to joining the Oilers, Holland served as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings for 22 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup three times (1998, 2002, 2008) and once as assistant general manager in 1997. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.
Jackson said he was not interested in taking on the role of general manager on a permanent basis and would begin the process of interviewing candidates immediately.
Rick Pracey, Edmonton’s director of amateur scouting, will lead the draft for the Oilers, who have no picks in the first, third or fourth rounds. Of their six selections, one is in the second round, one in the fifth and they have two each in the sixth and seventh rounds.
“Now we move forward, we have a lot of work to do,” Jackson said. “Our success this season has put us in a situation where we don’t have a lot of time to do things. The league has been operating while we’ve been playing, we have our own unrestricted free agents to sign, we have the draft, we have free agency and I have to find a new general manager.”
Jackson said he knew Holland wouldn’t return once his contract expired, but he didn’t want to start looking for a replacement until after the season. Neither he nor Holland wanted to be a distraction for the Oilers on the ice.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” Jackson said. “We knew we would be handcuffed if we got deep in the playoffs because you can’t have discussions about other general managers and ask teams for permission during the game. In our business, everything ends up in the field audience. »
“Obviously I made plans in my head and mapped things out with the hope that we would go really far and knowing that it would be difficult. Here we are and I’m going to move forward in the next few weeks and get the things done that we need to get done.
In Edmonton, Holland and the Oilers surrounded their top two centers, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, with a competitive team, thanks to a number of excellent signings and trades during his tenure.
“There are two or three players who have contributed enormously to the success,” Jackson said. “Obviously, signing Zach Hyman as a free agent (on July 28, 2021) was brilliant. Not only has Hyman continued to improve as a scorer, but he brings so much leadership to the team and anyone who covers the team knows the quality of person he is. »
The 32-year-old forward has scored an NHL career-high 54 goals this season, third in the league behind Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (69) and Panthers center Sam Reinhart (57). His 77 points (23 assists) in 80 games rank fourth in Edmonton. Hyman led all playoff scorers with 16 and had 22 points (six assists) in 25 games.
“The Mattias Ekholm trade to the Nashville Predators at the NHL trade deadline a year ago (February 28, 2023) may be another thing that could be considered, as it changed the trajectory a lot of things,” Jackson said. “‘Ekky’ brings so much to leadership, to competition, to mentoring; he allowed the team last year and this year to elevate “Bouch” (defenseman Evan Bouchard) and he responded, they make a great pair. »
The 34-year-old defenseman has an NHL career-high 45 points (11 goals, 34 assists) in 79 games this season and 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 25 playoff games.
Edmonton has seven forwards eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1; Connor Brown, Sam Carrick, Warren Foegele, Sam Gagner, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry, as well as defensemen Vincent Desharnais and Troy Stecher.
Goaltender Calvin Pickard is also a pending unrestricted free agent and Jackson will have to make a decision on goaltender Jack Campbell, who was waived and sent to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Nov. 9 and did not play for the Oilers for the remainder of the season.
Campbell could be a buyout candidate, with three years remaining on a five-year, $25 million contract ($5 million average annual value) he signed on July 13, 2022.
“At this point, I’m not going to comment on Jack,” Jackson said. “We are looking at all possible options on different things, including Jack. At this point, we are not planning (a buyout), we are considering it. »
Draisaitl, second on the Oilers in scoring this season behind McDavid with 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists) in 81 games, is also entering the final season of an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 million AAV) which he signed in August. 16, 2017. He can become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
“With all due respect to Leon, we have not entered into negotiations with him,” Jackson said. “I’m sure during this draft week I’ll meet with Mike Liut, who is his agent, and we’ll have a discussion. I think it’s extremely important that the general manager is in place before we get into that.