Fire Ken Holland: 2022-2023 edition

[JordanGalhanth]

Good point. I don't know what our record without JP is but I'm betting it's very good.

Oilers Record This Season Since February 28 | StatMuse

The Edmonton Oilers have an 8-7-1 record since February 28, 2024.

www.statmuse.com

According to this website, 13-2-1.

And meanwhile, the Hurricanes have gone 10-7-1 in that same time span. The injury to Svechnikov is obviously a huge factor there.

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

HIRE THIS MAN!

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I apologize.

I always thought a "stop employing somebody & then replace that person with somebody more to my liking" would constitute a thread about firing.

I guess I got a lot to learn about how to rationalize things.

A “Fire X” thread is usually a lot of ranting without solution. My Woody thread was clearly not meant to be that. It was supposed to be a rational and reasoned take however crazy it sounded at the time.

I tried to be forthcoming in saying how impatience, in particularly mine, was overruled by Hollands Legendary Patience - being in agreement with you in a self deprecating way.

Holland has hit the mark and that’s great.

 

[NeverForget06]

McDavid playing with Khaira and Rattie is a crime against humanity. No wonder he can score 150 points now!

 

[McDoused]

He also flipped Samorukov for Kostin. Bear for Foegel. Bjugstad has been a great depth piece too. Hollands made lots of smart little moves.

The biggest question mark though among Hollands acquisitions is Campbell. As we saw last night, he can be fairly hot and cold. Mostly cold though. Goalies are incredibly hard to predict.

I dont think he gets enough credit for some of the moves hes made, as some posters seem to think they are "obvious" in retrospect.

Re-signing nuge might have been his best move. Looking back I dont see a whole lot of us thinking he would be a 100 point player. I remember a lot of fans being upset that Holland was sitting on his hands but it ended up working out well that he was patient.

I think 30 other teams didnt want to take a chance on Kane not knowing what was going to happen with his legal issues. I remember a lot of media and fans calling him a distraction or cancer.

Then you add in Hyman who is having a career year and really helped push the work ethic of this team up a notch. Fans/Media thought he was overpaid but its turned out to be a value contract.

I also think his best moves are the moves he didnt make. He didnt end up overpaying for Chychrun and ended up getting Ekholm who has been exactly what this team needed. That wasnt an easy trade with how much the locker room and fans liked Barrie. How he got Carolina to take JP without giving up assets alone was amazing.

Apparently Arizona wanted Desharnais last year and Holland held onto him. I think they looked at the roster and realized what they had in Desharnais and believed Samorukov was the right guy to move (which was a huge win getting Kostin) which couldnt have been easy.

Some fans thought we overpaid for Kulak when we gave up a 2nd as well but that ended up being a pretty good trade since we signed him.

Fans wanted Mike Smith gone and mocked Holland when he said they had to get him going, which turned out to be exactly what they needed.

Heck even the Keith trade doesnt look so bad in retrospect.

Holland has definitely bought himself another year as GM.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I dont think he gets enough credit for some of the moves hes made, as some posters seem to think they are "obvious" in retrospect.

Re-signing nuge might have been his best move. Looking back I dont see a whole lot of us thinking he would be a 100 point player. I remember a lot of fans being upset that Holland was sitting on his hands but it ended up working out well that he was patient.

I think 30 other teams didnt want to take a chance on Kane not knowing what was going to happen with his legal issues. I remember a lot of media and fans calling him a distraction or cancer.

Then you add in Hyman who is having a career year and really helped push the work ethic of this team up a notch. Fans/Media thought he was overpaid but its turned out to be a value contract.

I also think his best moves are the moves he didnt make. He didnt end up overpaying for Chychrun and ended up getting Ekholm who has been exactly what this team needed. That wasnt an easy trade with how much the locker room and fans liked Barrie. How he got Carolina to take JP without giving up assets alone was amazing.

Apparently Arizona wanted Desharnais last year and Holland held onto him. I think they looked at the roster and realized what they had in Desharnais and believed Samorukov was the right guy to move (which was a huge win getting Kostin) which couldnt have been easy.

Some fans thought we overpaid for Kulak when we gave up a 2nd as well but that ended up being a pretty good trade since we signed him.

Fans wanted Mike Smith gone and mocked Holland when he said they had to get him going, which turned out to be exactly what they needed.

Heck even the Keith trade doesnt look so bad in retrospect.

Holland has definitely bought himself another year as GM.

He has certainly made more good moves than bad. The lack of a goaltender was a huge concern but the emergence of Skinner and perhaps a settling of Campbell’s game alleviates that.

 

[JustNapalmIt]

I dont think he gets enough credit for some of the moves hes made, as some posters seem to think they are "obvious" in retrospect.

Re-signing nuge might have been his best move. Looking back I dont see a whole lot of us thinking he would be a 100 point player. I remember a lot of fans being upset that Holland was sitting on his hands but it ended up working out well that he was patient.

I think 30 other teams didnt want to take a chance on Kane not knowing what was going to happen with his legal issues. I remember a lot of media and fans calling him a distraction or cancer.

Then you add in Hyman who is having a career year and really helped push the work ethic of this team up a notch. Fans/Media thought he was overpaid but its turned out to be a value contract.

I also think his best moves are the moves he didnt make. He didnt end up overpaying for Chychrun and ended up getting Ekholm who has been exactly what this team needed. That wasnt an easy trade with how much the locker room and fans liked Barrie. How he got Carolina to take JP without giving up assets alone was amazing.

Apparently Arizona wanted Desharnais last year and Holland held onto him. I think they looked at the roster and realized what they had in Desharnais and believed Samorukov was the right guy to move (which was a huge win getting Kostin) which couldnt have been easy.

Some fans thought we overpaid for Kulak when we gave up a 2nd as well but that ended up being a pretty good trade since we signed him.

Fans wanted Mike Smith gone and mocked Holland when he said they had to get him going, which turned out to be exactly what they needed.

Heck even the Keith trade doesnt look so bad in retrospect.

Holland has definitely bought himself another year as GM.

This. And he didn’t give up Holloway, Bourgault or Broberg in those trades. Which is huge.
I personally believe next year(absent injuries) is by far our best chance. As I think those guys above (except maybe Bourgault) have an opportunity to make pretty solid contributions.
Assuming of course (imo a big assumption) our goaltending holds.

 

[CupofOil]

He has added Hyman, Kane and Ekholm to an already solid core. The Ekholm trade was a huge one.

Re-shaped the entire bottom 6 as well. Kostin, Bjugstad, Foegele all acquired for redundant players (although I wasn't a fan of giving up on Kesselring), Janmark and Ryan have been really key contributors in stabilizing the bottom 6 with solid defensive play and also adding some scoring punch.

Holland hasn't been perfect, the Nurse and Campbell contracts are going to haunt them for a while, but there's been more good than bad and as a result this is the best Oilers roster since the dynasty years IMO with a solid pipeline of prospects ready to contribute sooner than later.

 

[McShogun99]

McDavid playing with Khaira and Rattie is a crime against humanity. No wonder he can score 150 points now!

I don't understand how Chia could build such a garbage team. Holland deserves a statue just for cleaning up that mess.

 

[oobga]

I'm choosing to give all credit for any good move he does to his son Brad.

#FireHolland
#PromoteHolland

 

[Mr Kot]

Also, I would like to point out that the anti-oilers trolls voting no to skew results look pretty funny in hindsight now that Holland seems to be doing ok.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Re-shaped the entire bottom 6 as well. Kostin, Bjugstad, Foegele all acquired for redundant players (although I wasn't a fan of giving up on Kesselring), Janmark and Ryan have been really key contributors in stabilizing the bottom 6 with solid defensive play and also adding some scoring punch.

Holland hasn't been perfect, the Nurse and Campbell contracts are going to haunt them for a while, but there's been more good than bad and as a result this is the best Oilers roster since the dynasty years IMO with a solid pipeline of prospects ready to contribute sooner than later.

Definitely the Nurse and Campbell contracts are looking like his most egregious errors but I think you have to apply context in both those situations. The Nurse situation likely would have worked out much better if not for a series of unlucky events. First the teams best lhd in Klefbom suddenly retires in his prime effectively pushing Nurse into that top spot, then we have the one off Canadian division half season where he puts together a strong showing. Then that summer our only other top 4 defender in Larsson doesn’t want to extend here and we’ve lost 2/3 of our top 3 defenders in less than a season. At that point, any leverage Holland had completely evaporated as letting his only other top defender walk clearly was not an option. Then you add on the fact other teams were handing out monster deals to defenders that summer. Really if Oscar doesn’t suddenly retire they likely get Nurse done a year earlier at a cheaper aav, but I’m sure that once Klefbom was out of the picture Nurse and his agent had no interest in negotiating a new long term deal when he was about to become the teams defacto #1.

The Campbell signing I wasn’t a fan of, but again context here matters. The goalie market is incredibly difficult as any given year there usually isn’t a ton of options at the position. He realistically had 3 options, Husso had pretty limited experience and got snapped up by Yzerman, and Kuemper is who I wanted them to target out of the three but he did have an injury issue at the time and who knows if he even wanted to sign here and what his number to sign in Edmonton was.

The guy I really wanted was Filip Gustavsson before the Wild traded for him but it wasn’t really going to happen with Skinner starting to emerge, the team wasn’t going to go with two goalies with less then 50 games between the two of them, they really needed to go for one of the best options to be a starter.

 

[JustNapalmIt]

Definitely the Nurse and Campbell contracts are looking like his most egregious errors but I think you have to apply context in both those situations. The Nurse situation likely would have worked out much better if not for a series of unlucky events. First the teams best lhd in Klefbom suddenly retires in his prime effectively pushing Nurse into that top spot, then we have the one off Canadian division half season where he puts together a strong showing. Then that summer our only other top 4 defender in Larsson doesn’t want to extend here and we’ve lost 2/3 of our top 3 defenders in less than a season. At that point, any leverage Holland had completely evaporated as letting his only other top defender walk clearly was not an option. Then you add on the fact other teams were handing out monster deals to defenders that summer. Really if Oscar doesn’t suddenly retire they likely get Nurse done a year earlier at a cheaper aav, but I’m sure that once Klefbom was out of the picture Nurse and his agent had no interest in negotiating a new long term deal when he was about to become the teams defacto #1.

The Campbell signing I wasn’t a fan of, but again context here matters. The goalie market is incredibly difficult as any given year there usually isn’t a ton of options at the position. He realistically had 3 options, Husso had pretty limited experience and got snapped up by Yzerman, and Kuemper is who I wanted them to target out of the three but he did have an injury issue at the time and who knows if he even wanted to sign here and what his number to sign in Edmonton was.

The guy I really wanted was Filip Gustavsson before the Wild traded for him but it wasn’t really going to happen with Skinner starting to emerge, the team wasn’t going to go with two goalies with less then 50 games between the two of them, they really needed to go for one of the best options to be a starter.

Very very good summary

 

[stewy04]

McDavid playing with Khaira and Rattie is a crime against humanity. No wonder he can score 150 points now!

That is such a terrible lineup. Thank God Chirelli is gone. Can't believe he still has an NHL job!

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Well it seems then this is the Look How Smart I Am thread now.

Funny as everyone posting here has made dumb comments and formulated opinions that turned out to dead wrong. Including you.

We don't start threads demanding firings every single year.

That is a tiny difference.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

We don't start threads demanding firings every single year.

That is a tiny difference.

I don’t either.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

I don’t either.

Just pointed out the flaw in your logic while you were defending said poster.

I can't remember who did the previous years editions.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Just pointed out the flaw in your logic while you were defending said poster.

I can't remember who did the previous years editions.

I think it’s the same guy. Haha.

 

[Mr Positive]

Definitely the Nurse and Campbell contracts are looking like his most egregious errors but I think you have to apply context in both those situations. The Nurse situation likely would have worked out much better if not for a series of unlucky events. First the teams best lhd in Klefbom suddenly retires in his prime effectively pushing Nurse into that top spot, then we have the one off Canadian division half season where he puts together a strong showing. Then that summer our only other top 4 defender in Larsson doesn’t want to extend here and we’ve lost 2/3 of our top 3 defenders in less than a season. At that point, any leverage Holland had completely evaporated as letting his only other top defender walk clearly was not an option. Then you add on the fact other teams were handing out monster deals to defenders that summer. Really if Oscar doesn’t suddenly retire they likely get Nurse done a year earlier at a cheaper aav, but I’m sure that once Klefbom was out of the picture Nurse and his agent had no interest in negotiating a new long term deal when he was about to become the teams defacto #1.

The Campbell signing I wasn’t a fan of, but again context here matters. The goalie market is incredibly difficult as any given year there usually isn’t a ton of options at the position. He realistically had 3 options, Husso had pretty limited experience and got snapped up by Yzerman, and Kuemper is who I wanted them to target out of the three but he did have an injury issue at the time and who knows if he even wanted to sign here and what his number to sign in Edmonton was.

The guy I really wanted was Filip Gustavsson before the Wild traded for him but it wasn’t really going to happen with Skinner starting to emerge, the team wasn’t going to go with two goalies with less then 50 games between the two of them, they really needed to go for one of the best options to be a starter.

Even with Nurse, he has been building his value back ever since Ekholm arrived and he wasnt the top pairing worthy D on the team. All it would take is a strong playoffs and his contract would be good.

 

[Travis093]

I remember reading a lot of posters on these forums wanting us to move on from rnh and to either let him go or to trade him. Glad we are keeping him for life

 

[Spawn]

Even with Nurse, he has been building his value back ever since Ekholm arrived and he wasnt the top pairing worthy D on the team. All it would take is a strong playoffs and his contract would be good.

The only thing that will make the Nurse contract look good is a Norris.

 

[SaltNPeca]

That is such a terrible lineup. Thank God Chirelli is gone. Can't believe he still has an NHL job!

BUT Kenny didn't have such an ego to try to re-shape the team entirely. He's openly given credit to Chia when asked about putting his signature on the team.

Seems to be honest, humble, and has this "steady hand" aura.

We were all drooling over certain D at the deadline and if I'm not mistaken Kenny had Ekholm lined up since the draft (knowing the Preds wanted Schaefer ).

 

[McShogun99]

The only thing that will make the Nurse contract look good is a Norris.

He'd already have one by now if he played for Toronto.

All you'd hear about is how he plays 25+ minutes a game against elite competition, how he's one of the league leaders in 5x5 points by Dmen, how he's a rare combination of strength, speed and skill that sticks up for teammates.

 

[Mr Positive]

The only thing that will make the Nurse contract look good is a Norris.

Imo the only thing we need is time. Once Nurse isn't top ten in salary anymore for a D then it won't seem bad.

 

[Spawn]

He'd already have one by now if he played for Toronto.

All you'd hear about is how he plays 25+ minutes a game against elite competition, how he's one of the league leaders in 5x5 points by Dmen, how he's a rare combination of strength, speed and skill that sticks up for teammates.

I like Nurse more than most to be honestly but he’s never been the best dman in the league.