EDMONTON — Ken Holland cleared up his short-term future on Wednesday, confirming that he plans to return as Oilers general manager for the final season of his five-year deal.
Beyond that, the 67-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer isn’t so sure.
“For me, it’s unfinished business,” he said. “I plan to honour my contract.
“Beyond that, at this stage of my life, I don’t invest in green bananas. I’m not sure if I’m going to be around long enough to see them ripen to be yellow.”
Holland took over an Oilers team in May 2019 that was in complete disarray.
The Oilers had missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons before Holland’s arrival, the second time leading to captain Connor McDavid expressing his frustration about the organization’s direction. The 2017 trip to the second round was coming out of the Decade of Darkness.
They’ve made the postseason each year under Holland and won three playoff series — reaching the Western Conference finals last year before being knocked out in the second round by the Golden Knights on Sunday.
“My belief in my own abilities and experience was to try to come and make a difference in a positive way,” Holland said. “Some people might decide it’s been a negative way. But I wake up every day and look in the mirror like everyone else and judge myself. I’m as hard on myself as anybody.
“I’ve still got a ton of energy, a ton of passion.”
The way this season ended wasn’t satisfactory to him, though. He used the word “devastated” numerous times to describe not only his emotion, but that of the coaching staff, players and fans.
The team was expecting to be still playing games right now.
“I’ve got an empty feeling,” Holland said.
Holland said he believes in this Oilers team, adding he wouldn’t have traded two first-round picks — one being 2022 first-rounder Reid Schaefer — as part of the Mattias Ekholm deal if he didn’t.
He has four Stanley Cup titles on his resume, three as a GM. The last one came with the Red Wings 15 years ago — a lifetime by hockey standards.
“I would love to do that one more time,” he said. “I think we’ve got a group of players and a team that it can happen.”
Staios’ apprenticeship to continue next season
The Oilers have three assistant GMs with different purviews. Holland’s son, Brad, handles pro scouting. Keith Gretzky runs AHL Bakersfield. Bill Scott is the capologist.
But it’s someone without that title who’s believed to have the inside track to succeed Holland.
There were whispers internally that former Oilers defenceman Steve Staios, who was hired to be Holland’s special adviser in September, is the next in line for the GM job. The conversation intensified when Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggested Staios, 49, could assume the post as early as this offseason.
That doesn’t sound likely based on what Holland said about his own future Wednesday. But the wheels could be in motion for that to happen at some point.
“Steve should do more of the things that an assistant general manager does,” Holland said. “He’d like to grow as a young executive. He won’t do the same things as he did (this) year.”
Staios’ primary job responsibilities this season were scouting Ontario and player development — checking in on junior and collegiate prospects. Holland wants to find a permanent scout to cover Canada’s most populated province, which would free up Staios to watch more pro games.
Staios has had an extensive off-ice career since he retired from the NHL in 2012. He’s worked in player development and was an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs before becoming the general manager of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Hamilton won league titles in 2018 and 2022 under his watch.
Areas of improvement
Holland said he’ll look to upgrade the roster. Naturally.
However, the team is expected to look very similar in the fall — just as it did last September after the Colorado series.
Holland re-signed midseason additions Evander Kane and Brett Kulak after losing out in the 2022 playoffs. Jack Campbell was his only big free agent get. He brought in Mattias Janmark and Ryan Murray later in the summer.
Including Kane, the top-five forwards all have no-movement clauses. So does Darnell Nurse. Ekholm is on a long-term contract. Same goes for both goalies.
Cap space is tight, so Holland is banking on more internal growth. The one thing he’d like to see is a greater emphasis on defence from the players.
The Oilers were 17th in the league in terms of five-on-five goals against during the regular season. They were outscored 15-9 in that capacity by Vegas through six playoff games.
“Everybody can play defence,” Holland said. “It’s a commitment. It’s a desire. It’s a determination.”
A bridge deal for Bouchard?
The core is mostly locked in. There’s really just one key piece outstanding: pending RFA Evan Bouchard.
Bouchard’s agents, Dave Gagner and Jeff Jackson, had no interest in engaging in contract talks during the season. The thought was Bouchard was only going to get better.
That decision paid off splendidly for their client.
Bouchard was one of the Oilers’ best players from the moment Tyson Barrie was dealt for Ekholm. He got to quarterback the top power play of all time and he formed an outstanding pair with the rugged Swede.
“We saw great growth in Bouch,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said after Game 6. “He’s somebody who’s taken off.
“For Evan to turn in the playoffs that he did, he should feel like he’s in a good trajectory moving forward.”
Now, Bouchard is due to cash in big time.
“There’s no doubt he’s getting a raise,” Holland said.
The only certainty is how his next contract will look.
Last offseason, the Oilers were earmarking Duncan Keith’s $5.5 million cap hit for Bouchard when his contract expired. That type of average salary might even be high enough to buy an unrestricted free agent season or two from Bouchard, who has four campaigns left before he can become a UFA in 2027.
Well, it won’t be easy to give Bouchard that much money now.
Projections between PuckPedia and CapFriendly vary, but the Oilers have roughly $6 million in cap space with 16 or 17 players on the roster. The 2023-24 cap is $83.5 million, a $1 million increase from this season, but the Oilers have $850,000 in bonus overage on account of Bouchard’s torrid play over the last quarter of the campaign.
Ryan McLeod and Klim Kostin are RFAs. Derek Ryan, Nick Bjugstad, Janmark and Devin Shore are UFAs.
It appears a bridge deal is more likely for Bouchard. Fellow 2018 first-round defenceman Noah Dobson just finished the first season of a three-year, $4 million AAV deal. That could be a template. The only way Bouchard gets a bigger AAV — and the Oilers get him signed past four years — is if Holland clears out money.
“I don’t know if it’s a bridge (contract) or not,” Holland said. “We’ll find a solution.”
Bet on Campbell returning
It’s been well documented how poorly Jack Campbell’s season was in 2022-23. With four seasons remaining on his $5 million AAV contract, the only thing left to figure out was the marriage between goaltender and team. Holland all but confirmed that it will continue.
He mentioned how sometimes the initial pressure is immense on someone who signs a big contract with a new team. Look no further than Jacob Markstrom with the Flames.
Markstrom signed with Calgary in October 2020 and endured a poor first campaign but rebounded to finish second in Vezina Trophy voting in 2021-22.
“I’m believing that Year 2 is going to be pretty good,” Holland said.
Holland’s optimism could be founded in Campbell’s .961 save percentage in 118 relief minutes in the playoffs. It might also be because he doesn’t have another choice.
Campbell’s stock around the league isn’t exactly high when it comes to a potential trade. He also has a 10-team no-trade list. Also, a buyout would be on the Oilers’ books until 2031.
(Photo: Dave Sandford / NHLI via Getty Images)