When he was hired by the Edmonton Oilers in May 2019, general manager Ken Holland inherited two of the NHL’s best centers, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but also a club woefully weak at every other position and 25th overall.

There were skeptics, since Holland had been unable to prevent the fall of the Detroit Red Wings following the retirement of legendary defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, but despite a few mishaps along the way, the 68-year-old manager did a tremendous job and finally allowed the Oilers to take flight to the Stanley Cup final.

Without bleeding his organization or compromising his future too much, Holland was able to replenish the Oilers in almost every position.

First surprising observation: fourteen of the twenty players in this training concocted by Peter Chiarelli, Holland’s predecessor, were no longer playing in the NHL this season or had played less than 30 games.

Holland added three important wingers to the top two lines. The $38.5 million contract over seven years (average $5.5 million) offered to Toronto Maple Leafs winger Zach Hyman on the free agent market seemed a bit excessive in 2021. Hyman was coming off a modest season of 33 points, including 15 goals, in 43 games in Toronto. He just scored 54 this season, at age 31, and has 14 in 18 playoff games.

The Oilers GM took the risk of offering a contract to Evander Kane despite his escapades in San Jose. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound colossus, 32, drafted fourth overall in 2009, doesn’t produce like Hyman, but he nonetheless scored 24 goals this winter and gives Leon Draisaitl a quality winger within the second trio.

2020 top pick Dylan Holloway, another colossus at 6-foot-1, 206 pounds, hasn’t had a linear development; he spent half the season in the American League and his production remains modest, but he compensates with his effective forecheck and complements this trio well with Kane and Draisaitl.

Adam Henrique is worth his weight in gold in the third trio. Holland paid a late first-round pick to get this rental player, 42 points in 60 games in Anaheim at the time of his acquisition. The Ducks will draft 31st or 32nd with this pick. Janmark costs a million per season and signs his contracts one year at a time.

On defense, acquiring Mattias Ekholm at the 2023 trade deadline is key. Holland sacrificed the 24th overall pick and a B prospect, but Ekholm, 34, brought plenty of stability to the top pairing, along with Evan Bouchard, the 10th overall pick in 2018. Ekholm, 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, was under contract for three more seasons at the time of the trade. He still has one year left on his contract at 6.25 million.

Holland isn’t perfect either, who is? He gave an insane contract to defenseman Darnell Nurse in 2021. Nurse is making $9.2 million per season and has six years left on his contract. His performance has plummeted since signing this eight-year contract. His game has improved, fortunately, in the last few matches.

Stuart Skinner became the team’s number one goalkeeper somewhat by default. But the confidence in him was not there, at least not yet, in 2022, since Holland offered a contract of 25 million for five years to Jack Campbell. He spent the winter in the American League.

But who cares about these two contracts today? It remains to be seen the future of Ken Holland after this final, since his contract is expiring…

Kaapo Kakko was coming off a career-best 40-point season at age 22 under Gerard Gallant. Gallant’s successor, Peter Laviolette, offered him a place on the first line at the start of the season with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Things didn’t work out. This second overall pick in 2019 had just 19 points in 61 games and even had to give up his spot in the lineup at a crucial moment in the playoffs.

And yet, Laviolette takes part of the blame for her colt’s difficult season. “I was unable to restart it,” he confided in this text by Vincent Mercogliano. He is a good player and we hoped to see him progress. We want to do it with all our players, but it doesn’t happen in all cases. I need to find a better solution. »

The Rangers could sell him at a discount to another team or hope to see him unlocked next season. But at 23 years old, 24 in February 2025, he is already starting to get late.