Did Ken Holland do Enough for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers?

Earlier this morning it was officially announced by Jeff Jackson that Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Ken Holland would not be returning to the hockey club beyond the expiration of his contract. Ken Holland's time in Edmonton has had a lot of ups and downs and there are a vocal crowd that criticizes every single move he's made. In today's video I'll be discussing his most impactful signings, trades and drafts and give my thoughts on his overall impact on the team and its Cup Window under his tenure. #oilers #nhl
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:34 - Key Draft Picks
7:35 - Key Signings
17:39 - Key Trades
20:51 - Playoff Record
22:47 - Overall Grade
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[@robinferguson2569]

Holland didn’t place Kane on LTIR ,use that money like Vages does and also left money on table at trade deadline. That alone hurt our run this year

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

Good observation. What does that situation say about Kane's future going forward? Is it wait n see. Trade & dump or get assets?

[@wad316]

About that - there any specific rule re the kind of injury before you can put someone on LTIR? He was able to play through at least 2 full rounds after all.

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

@@wad316 yes yet he was Nursing it pun intended almost all season. It affected his play. Injuries are to be expected for a 30 something power forward though.

[@michaelbliss3071]

Yes ,not just could he have went after a better player in the trade deadline bit also would have allowed Kane to heal and would have been fresh and ready for the vancouver or Dallas series

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

@@michaelbliss3071 like VGK's Mark Stone always seems to get hurt before the trade deadline & always seems to heal before the season's end? There was also talk that Kane wasn't happy about his ice time or position in the lineup at times too. Still surrounded by drama at times as well.

[@michaelkeller5927]

3 bad contracts, 4 decent ones, and 3 absolute home run steals that could be the best in the league. Couple bad trades: Athanasiou comes to mind. But an absloute steal with Ekholm. Bottom line: look at the team he inherited, our top 9 forwards were full of barely 4th line guys, and on defence we had Nurse+ five 6/7th defenceman. Holland did a good job (keep him away from the draft table though) and I'd grade him a solid B.

[@BenjaminDaCunha-ys8ty]

Zack Kassian extension was a pretty big miss too in that they needed to trade draft picks just to offload him.

[@inducedcomics]

I think Holland had a good run. The overpayment for Nurse and the Campbell contract overshadow a lot of good things he did unfortunately.

[@Bruhaha9]

He did alright, but this year, he needed to go all in. There's no time to wait. Trading Campbell if possible with sweeteners, upgrading Ceci, and even trying to deal Nurse with sweeteners would have given him extra money to acquire other players even with a replacement for Nurse's level of defence. Not all of that was likely possible, but he needed to bet the farm and get some of that done. 2 goals away from cup suggests one more improvement does it. And this is not hindsight. It's exactly what I thought at the deadline. I'm happy with how they performed, but I think all Oilers fans obviously would have wanted the cup, so let's get real.

[@Bruhaha9]

This fits with the theory that GM's of Canadian teams are influenced by the fan base pressure. I read an article suggesting that they don't take enough risks because they're afraid of failure in front of a rabid fanbase. Look at the most bold GM's. American teams. Psychology controls all. It doesn't even have to be conscious to influence history.

[@brentdraper1713]

Thats always a blast to get back on the ice Larry. Warning, I went again after 20 years. It was like riding a bike. Although my legs killed me for a couple days after. Have a good time on the ice.

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

On July 1st I hope Jeff Jackson & crew will inquire about Matt Roy & Sean Walker. Ceci played pretty well in the playoffs & finals imo & Desharnais still isn't re-signed. Hopefully Troy Stetcher is recovering & is around as a option.

[@AHockey1993]

I would love Matt Roy! Ceci is fine on the 3rd pair but makes too much to be a 3rd pairing option for me, I could them trying to trade him for sure. Vinny likely is gone I think, good for him wherever he goes!

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

@@AHockey1993 then what about Troy Stetcher as depth signing?

[@AHockey1993]

@@jonbenjisnomore7935 I’d be down for Stecher to come back cheap as a depth option, would have liked to see him play more before his ankle surgery to really know what we had with him

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

@@AHockey1993 thnks.👍

[@Simple_101]

Aren’t buyouts only allowed until Sunday, June 30th at 5:00 pm this year? If Campbell is being bought out, it has to happen PDQ.

[@AHockey1993]

Yep, we are in the buyout window, I’m assuming Jackson and Co. Are going to try to trade him first and if there’s no takers then they’ll buy him out before the deadline

[@meatbagshorts2452]

I'm excited for this upcoming season for damn sure!! Are you going to any games this season yourself? 🤙

[@AHockey1993]

Im definitely planning on going to a game or two for sure!

[@meatbagshorts2452]

@@AHockey1993 Woot woot!! Any opposing teams you'd wanna see? I'm going to a game or two this year myself too 🤙

[@SeeExperience]

One piece of constructive criticism is that it would be nice to know when these contracts end. Just to help paint a picture. I'm not sure what year these contracts were signed. ( Not an oilers fan, just like hearing from a fans perspective) Otherwise enjoyed the video

[@AHockey1993]

I had meant to show the capfriendly graphic for the contracts and forgot that’s my bad! Appreciate it!

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

​​​@@AHockey1993what is your opinion on Washington's owner Ted Leonsis buying Capfriendly & how that might effect every other team's cap management crew. June 12th 2024 Washington Capitals GM Press release

[@AHockey1993]

@@jonbenjisnomore7935 I think it sucks for fans and hockey enthusiasts to lose out on accessing Capfriendly, but if billion dollar teams are relying on Capfriendly rather than building their own database that’s their own fault for being behind the times lol.

[@jonbenjisnomore7935]

​@@AHockey1993true enough. It certainly hurts us fans though. Edit I guess there's always PuckPedia yet I don't remember going there

[@paulbertles3724]

I actually only hit the play button by mistake what are you doing who cares about what you think Ken Holland did an excellent job he just took the oilers to game seven of the Stanley cup finals why are you even discussing his confidence or reputation, 😹

[@AHockey1993]

Welcome to KZbin where people make content about various topics and give their opinion, then allow their audience to also give their opinion and create online discussion! I appreciate you joining today :)

[@djembejambi]

and then strome for spooner

[@AHockey1993]

💀💀💀

[@nili8677]

We all forgot about one thing , we are looking at the contract with current status which is totally wrong. Stop judging the contract when you at God's mode.

[@ClassicalSquaresoft]

Lets get rid of Kane. He's been a pylon with his injuries.

[@csman4050]

Why can the Oilers not buy out Darnell Nurse?

[@AHockey1993]

The cap hit that the team would get hit with would be impossible to work around www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator/darnell-nurse

[@csman4050]

@@AHockey1993 oh bet. So now we just have to tank Darnell nurse for the next couple of years…

[@nathanpoon]

you can't put mcleod out there...

[@SS-iv7wv]

The Oilers will go the way of the Red Wings, he overspent on players and gave away first rounders for garbage. You don't trade away your pipeline of talent. Imagine if he would have traded the first that turned into Micdavid? Nobody would be good with that. The Wings were ruined for over a decade because of this guy. Probably one of the most overrated GM's in the NHL. Mike Illitch gave him unlimited money before the cap, so yeah he signed Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Dominic Hasek, of course you'd win with 9 hall of famers on that team. The Oil's future will be weaker because of his decisions, 4-6 years they will be a bottom dweller because of this guy.

[@AHockey1993]

He’s had some really good moves, like the Hyman signing and Ekholm trade. But his draft record is atrocious. It’ll be interesting to see how the next GM builds around what is left now

[@ScoobyDad]

Nailed it with your comment

[@michaelkeller5927]

This comment makes no sense. He traded one single 1st round pick for a rental in all his time here. As for the "what if" comment, that makes even less sense! Why would a rebuilding team trade their 1st rounder?? Your comment REEKS of strawman arguments. They will not be a bottom dweller in 4-6 years lmao.

[@paulbertles3724]

What?the Hall of famers just fell out of the sky. What did Ken Holland ever do to you? You wish you could have the success in life that he's had!!

[@paulbertles3724]

The oilers are dynasty, I'm guessing you weren't alive 40 years ago because then you'd recognize what a dynasty looks like. Does anybody actually like and subscribe to you, family members excluded, lol