Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
The NHL named Ken Holland a hockey operations consultant five months after he led the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup final as their GM.
Holland’s hiring comes a day after the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted the class of 2024, which included Colin Campbell, the NHL’s senior executive vice-president of hockey operations.
“We are delighted to welcome Ken to NHL Hockey Operations, where he will provide invaluable insight from his decades in the game as a player, scout and executive,” Campbell said in Tuesday’s announcement. “He offers unmatched expertise in a wide range of areas.”
Holland, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 as a builder, was the Oilers’ GM-president of hockey operations for the last five seasons. His contract expired following the club’s Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers in June’s Stanley Cup final.
But the 69-year-old from Vernon, B.C., rose to hockey glory during 22 years as GM of the Detroit Red Wings, where he won three Stanley Cups in the GM role and four in total. He had already been with Detroit for 12 years beforehand, including starting as a scout and then becoming an amateur scouting director and assistant GM.
Holland was also part of Team Canada’s winning men’s teams at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, as well as at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Related: Here Are The Hockey Hall Of Fame Inductees Being Honored This Weekend
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