May 16, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland’s contract will expire at the conclusion of this season. He has not made any public declarations about his potential next move. This came in from Andy Strickland, St. Louis Blues rinkside reporter for Bally Sports, on Thursday:

Ken Holland to #CBJ rumors don’t seem to quiet down anytime soon. Maybe a long run to the Final would change things but there are many who feel he could be headed to Columbus to fill their GM vacancy. Mentor Rick Nash to eventually take over?

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) May 16, 2024

This report does not mean that anything is finalized. Nothing has been set in stone yet. However, it’s worth a hypothetical discussion.

The Oilers brought in CEO Jeff Jackson last summer. Typically, a massive change to the hierarchy of the front office doesn’t happen if a team is happy with its direction. A new boss will usually take time to assess the situation before making any major changes. Jackson has been on the job for almost a full year now, so he has had plenty of time to assess.

Jackson has already made several smaller changes to the hockey operations department. He replaced Head of Amateur Scouting Tyler Wright with Rick Pracey. Then he hired Michael Parkatti to bolster the analytics department, he hired Mike Fanelli and Noah Segall in the video department, and he hired Dani Rylan Kearney to be a Professional Scout for the Metropolitan Division.

Related: Jackson’s Potential Impact on the Oilers- Part One: Player Development

Jackson has been working hand in hand with Holland this season. Jackson had his hands all over the Knoblauch hiring. Holland had interviewed head coach Kris Knoblauch for a coaching position in the Detroit Red Wings organization many moons ago, but Knoblauch’s deeper connection is with Jackson. Jackson was around Knoblauch’s Eerie Otters when he was Connor McDavid’s agent, so he had a deep knowledge of Knoblauch and his coaching style. It was also Jackson that approached and ultimately convinced Paul Coffey to join the Oilers coaching staff.

The fact that the coaching change and the corresponding new coaching hires were not fully Holland’s decisions speaks volumes about where Holland stands in the organization. Holland clearly did not have the autonomy that he had in the first four years of his contract with the Oilers this season. This doesn’t seem like a situation where a contract extension is forthcoming.

Related: Deep Dive: Oilers Coaching Change Press Conference

Jackson’s hires thus far would be considered to be progressive and forward thinking. Holland is one of the most successful general managers in hockey history, but he is not progressive and forward thinking anymore. New bosses also generally like to hire their own people for important positions. Holland is not Jackson’s hire nor does he fit the mold of the Jackson hirings we’ve seen up to this point.

A Stanley Cup in June could change things, but it seems like Holland will not be the GM of the Oilers next season.

As for a next move for Holland, the Columbus Blue Jackets have the only currently vacant GM position. The logic connecting Holland to Columbus is sound from that perspective. However, Holland famously said that he doesn’t “invest in green bananas” at this stage of his career. The Blue Jackets are a young, rebuilding team. They have some big pieces in place like Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski as well as some promising young stars like Adam Fantilli and David Jiricek, but there is still a lot of ripening to be done with that team. I’m sure that the Blue Jackets would love to have Holland, but I’m not so sure that Holland would want that job.

A more likely scenario would be Holland moving into an advisory role of some kind with the Oilers. My personal feeling is that Holland will not want to just walk away from hockey because he’s still quite passionate about the game and his job, but I can totally see the Oilers wanting to go in a different direction with their next GM. An advisory role within the Oilers organization would allow him to still be involved, but to a lesser degree.

Then again, Holland had a similar role with the Detroit Red Wings once Steve Yzerman was named GM of the team in 2019. That lasted about a month before the Oilers hired him to be their GM.

I don’t know what will happen with Holland this summer, but the tidbit from Strickland is certainly interesting.