Oilers not extending GM Ken Holland’s contract

Ken Holland will not be returning as general manager and president of hockey operations for the Edmonton Oilers, the team announced Thursday ahead of the NHL Draft.

The Oilers do not have a pick until the second round, having traded their first-round selection to the Anaheim Ducks in March.

“The Edmonton Oilers and Ken Holland have mutually agreed that his contract will not be extended beyond the end of its current term,” Edmonton Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said in a release. “Over the past five seasons as general manager, Ken has not only built the Edmonton Oilers into one of the NHL’s best teams, he has also established a deeply rooted foundation of success and a culture of winning that will continue well into the future. Thanks in large part to Ken’s outstanding work, Edmonton has become a destination city for players around the National Hockey League.

“We wish Ken, Cindi and his entire family the very best and thank him for his leadership and contributions to the Oilers organization and the City of Edmonton.”

Holland, who was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020, just missed out on capturing his fifth Stanley Cup as an executive as the Oilers fell 2-1 to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 on Monday.

The 68-year-old Holland joined the Oilers in 2019 following a stellar 22-year run as an executive with the Detroit Red Wings.

He won four Stanley Cup titles with the Red Wings, earning his first while serving as assistant general manager and goaltending coach in 1997 and claiming the other three as general manager in 1998, 2002 and 2008.