Holland to remain Oilers GM for at least 1 more season

Ken Holland will honor the final year of his contract as president of hockey operations and general manager of the Edmonton Oilers.

"I've got a year to go on my contract. For me, it's unfinished business," Holland told reporters Wednesday, according to Sportsnet. "I plan to honor my contract."

But after 2023-24, it's up in the air. The veteran executive used an unusual analogy to hint that his time running the club is winding down.

"Beyond that, at this stage in my life, I don't invest in green bananas," he said. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be around long enough to see them ripen to be yellow."

Holland is 67 years old and just completed his fourth season running the Oilers. He previously served as executive vice president of hockey operations and GM of the Detroit Red Wings from 1997-2019, overseeing three Stanley Cups while in charge. He was part of another championship as assistant GM.

"The last time that I was the general manager of a Stanley Cup championship team was 2008. That's a player's lifetime. That's 16 years ago. I would love to do that one more time," Holland said. "I think we've got a group of players and a team that it can happen. But it doesn't just happen."

The Oilers fell in Round 2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games even though many pundits picked them as a Stanley Cup favorite with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way.

"Massively, massively, massively disappointed that we didn't go farther," Holland said. "But I also have a total respect for Vegas. They beat us."

Despite the devastation, Holland believes the Oilers' future remains bright.

"I've been around the National Hockey League a long time. I know how hard it is to win, and they won, and we didn't," he said. "But I also know that we've got, in my opinion, a hell of a hockey team. Most of those players in that locker room are in the prime of their career, so it's not like we're going away."

Holland dealt his 2023 first-round pick at the trade deadline for defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who's under contract for three more seasons. It marked the first time in Holland's Oilers tenure that he traded away a first-rounder, signaling the time to win is now.

Edmonton hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1990.

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