In the wake of a disappointing season, the Edmonton Oilers fired coach Ken Hitchcock on Tuesday and officially announced the hiring of Ken Holland as general manager.
Hitchcock was hired in November to replace Todd McLellan and went 26-28-8 as the Oilers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Edmonton finished 35-38-9 (79 points), the second-lowest point total in the Western Conference.
Holland signed a five-year contract, reportedly worth $5 million annually. He will make the decision on the team's next head coach.
Holland, 63, spent the past 35 years with the Detroit Red Wings, including the past 22 seasons as general manager.
"I don't know why (the Oilers have) made the playoffs once in 13 years, but it is what it is and it's my job to figure all that out and try to build an organization where we start to get better and we become elite," Holland said at an introductory press conference. "It's my job to determine what people on the ice and off the ice I bring in. Then when I get those people, I'm going to listen to them. ...
"I believe in stability, I believe in loyalty, I believe in having a plan, I believe in sticking to the plan and those are all the things I'm going to do here now and I'm going to decide which people are a part of the plan."
Franchise cornerstone Connor McDavid said last month his frustration level was "really, really high" with the current direction of the franchise. According to Yahoo (NASDAQ:AABA) Canada, McDavid was thrilled with the decision to hire Holland.
The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup with Holland calling the shots in 1998, 2002 and 2008. As the highest-spending team in the NHL last season, the Red Wings failed to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Last month, the Red Wings hired team legend Steve Yzerman as general manager, with Holland signing a multiyear deal to become the club's senior vice president. However, Holland decided to exit Detroit when the Edmonton GM job became available.
"The fans in Detroit are restless, they've missed the playoffs three years in a row and when you miss the playoffs too many years in a row, fans get restless and I understand that," Holland said. "I felt that this was a great opportunity for me, personally, and I have great respect for the history of the Edmonton Oilers and the passion of this fan base."
--Field Level Media