Is Ken Holland's legacy on the line this year?

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Ryan Hall
July 19, 2023 (10:23)

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My, how time flies! Incredibly, General Manager Ken Holland's contract is up after this season. The longtime Red Wings and Oilers general manager took the position on May 7th, 2019. He has been at the forefront of the Oilers' overhaul since the team turned the page on the Peter Chiarelli and Kevin Lowe era.

With one year left on his deal, Holland has reached a crossroads in his career. As many reports have suggested, there has been no chatter about an extension for Holland, considering the general manager is currently 67 years old. He has had a long and illustrious career as a general manager, and it's certainly possible that he wants to wrap up this tenure and possibly retire.

In his final presser, after the season came to an end, Holland stated that the Oilers have unfinished business, and he wants to see this through and get the Oilers to the Stanley Cup final.

He has positioned the team reasonably well to make that happen, as they have repeatedly knocked on the door from the second round to the Western Conference final.

At the moment, Holland has one major contract left to negotiate for this season defenseman Evan Bouchard. With the cap issues that the Oilers have faced and having to dump two salaries to the Detroit Red Wings in Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin, Holland hopes Bouchard will take a bridge deal. It may happen; however, history shows that players in this area would like to be paid well.

Whether Holland will retire from his role as President of Hockey Operations for the Oilers remains to be seen. He will hire a new general manager if he remains president. Former NHL player Steve Staios has been rumoured to be the front-runner for this position. He and Holland would have an enormous task of locking up one of their superstar centers, Leon Draisaitl.

Draisaitl will be eligible to sign a contract extension after this season, and I feel that it should be the Oilers' priority #1. Oilers fans will certainly need to watch as this all unfolds, to see if Holland can get them to the final round before making a major change in his career.