Oilers GM Ken Holland not returning next season after contract expires

One of the worst-kept secrets in the NHL was confirmed Thursday when the Edmonton Oilers announced Hockey Hall of Fame GM Ken Holland will not return for a sixth season with the team.

The five-year contract Holland signed in May 2019 expires on Sunday.

Holland leaving Edmonton has seemed apparent for months. The Oilers reaching the Stanley Cup Final and losing in Game 7 by one goal was immaterial.

Holland wasn’t given an extension after the Oilers lost in the second round of the 2023 playoffs to the Vegas Golden Knights. Jeff Jackson was hired above Holland to be the CEO of hockey operations last August after a recommendation from Paul Coffey — the former Oilers superstar defenseman and special adviser to owner Daryl Katz. It was then Jackson’s decision to hire Kris Knoblauch to replace Jay Woodcroft as coach on Nov. 12. Jackson convinced Coffey to be an assistant coach.

“I don’t have any intention of being the general manager,” Jackson said, adding that he’s the acting GM. He has no timeline for a hire but said it’s a priority.

#Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson has released a statement regarding President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Ken Holland. https://t.co/xcuFvngOCe

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 27, 2024

Holland took over an Oilers team that had been riddled by mismanagement. Under his watch, they made the playoffs in all five seasons with him as GM — finishing second in their division each time — after reaching the postseason just once in 13 campaigns before his arrival.

The Oilers appeared in 11 playoff rounds and won six. In addition to their 2024 Stanley Cup Final appearance, they also reached the 2022 Western Conference final before getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche — the eventual league champions.

Holland made some shrewd decisions to augment the Oilers.

Unquestionably, his two best moves were signing winger Zach Hyman to a seven-year, $5.5 million AAV contract in the 2021 offseason and acquiring defenseman Mattias Ekholm before the 2023 trade deadline. Both players have been instrumental leaders and on-ice contributors.

Hyman tied for the NHL lead with 70 goals (regular season and playoffs) in 2023-24, whereas Ekholm garnered Norris Trophy consideration for the NHL’s top blueliner.

His run as GM was far from perfect.

Extending Zack Kassian in January 2020 immediately went pear-shaped, although the impending pandemic resulting in a stagnant salary cap only compounded matters; Kassian was traded along with draft picks in July 2022.

Darnell Nurse’s $9.25 million AAV contract — which has six more years left on it — is an enormous albatross; Nurse got his extension in August 2021 after a career season, a career-ending injury to fellow lefty defenseman Oscar Klefbom and other NHL blueliners Seth Jones and Zach Werenski both signing huge deals.

Lastly, goaltender Jack Campbell, who was Holland’s first successful big swing at a high-profile goaltender, has been a disaster. Campbell is just two seasons into his five-year contract and will probably be bought out before week’s end after spending almost the entire campaign in the minors.

“At this point, we’re not planning that,” Jackson said about a buyout. “We’re considering it.”

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(Photo: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)