TALKING POINTS: Holland comments after conclusion of Oilers season

EDMONTON, AB - Oilers General Manager & President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland spoke to the media during his end-of-season media availability in the Hall of Fame Room at Rogers Place on Wednesday following the conclusion of their 2022-23 campaign.

The executive debriefed the year that was for the Oilers and touched on a variety of other topics, including the changes that need to be made in the offseason for the club to take another run at the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24, his own personal ambitions in management and more.

Read the full transcript and watch Wednesday's full media availability below.

On the direction of the Oilers after falling to the Golden Knights in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

"I've got an empty feeling. I think anytime you feel that your team can go on a long playoff run and you don't go to the end, you're disappointed. So, it's an empty feeling.

"But I also know as a general manager, you get to have an empty feeling for about 36 hours, and then you've got to get back at it. We've been doing exit interviews. We had a good regular season. We had high hopes, high expectations, and we had a disappointing finish. We didn't get the job done obviously, we got beat by a better team and a team that finished ahead of us in the standings by two points, and they beat us head-to-head in a two-week tournament. So not good enough.

"The goal obviously is to win the Stanley Cup, and when you don't win the Stanley Cup, it's a disappointing year."

On if he was happy with how he assembled the Oilers for this year's playoff run:

"I guess I've got 30 years to reflect on, because we did all this in Detroit two times over really. One year, you don't go as far and it's not like you change the whole team. The team that won the Stanley Cup in Detroit in '08 was very similar to the team that lost in the first round to Edmonton in '06. It's being in those situations over and over. I think I said it this year at a press conference -- you've got to be in there year after year. I like to think in Detroit, we were a legitimate cup contender. In 15-to-16 years, we won four. You don't win twelve. It's hard to win one, so you've got to be in there year, after year, and I think that last year, we got in and we lost in the final four.

"Anytime you lose to somebody, in my opinion, they're better than you are. You had a chance to beat them, and you didn't beat them, so Colorado was better than we were and they went on to win the Stanley Cup. Vegas was better than were, and part of this is going to be over the next six-to-eight weeks tweaking the team. I think the key pieces, for the most part, they're here and we've got to grow some younger people and we've got to try to put ourselves through this process and be in the same position a year from now to try again."

On already considering the Salary Cap for any potential off-season moves:

"Everybody's dealing with the cap, so we're not dealing with anything that anybody else isn't. The cap is a challenge, but that's my job -- to try to build the best team you can within the cap system.

"I think it's been great for the National Hockey League because there was a time when maybe there was only six, seven, eight or nine teams that could win the Stanley Cup. Now, anybody that makes the playoffs can win the Stanley Cup. It's added to the competitive balance, so it's created a level, but that's the good and the bad. At the end of the day, do we have to make some decisions? Yes, but we're not the only team that has to make those decisions."

On having one year left on his contract and what the future holds for him:

"Well, I've got a year to go in my contract. For me, it's unfinished business. I plan to honour my contract. Beyond that, at this stage of my life, I don't invest in green bananas. I'm just not sure if I'm going to be around long enough to see them ripen to yellow. But certainly, I crack the joke, but I feel you'd [points to a member of the media] be the guy that, since year one that I was here, would say, 'When are you going to trade a first-round pick?' and I traded a first-round pick when I believed that we're there. And obviously, I traded two first-round picks at the deadline to bring in Ekholm.

"I believe the time is now. I believe we have a really good team. I believe there are lots of really good teams around the National Hockey League. We're not the only good team around the National Hockey League, but I believe just as [media member] said, we've finished 12th, 11th, 11th and 6th; you want to be good in the playoffs, but you've got to be good in the regular season. You can't be in one year, miss one year, be in one year, miss one year, get in and be the 8th seed and think you're going to win the Stanley Cup. You want to win in the playoffs, you've got to win in the regular season, and I think we're building that.

"You look at Stuart Skinner being a 24-year-old goaltender, and I just actually just met with McLeod, a 23-year-old centre, we've got some young people and these are great experiences for them to hopefully be ready next year to go all the way."

On if he intends to return both as General Manager and President of Hockey Operations for the 2023-24 NHL season:

"Yeah, I do."

On if there's been any discussions about who will be the next General Manager:

"I can tell you honestly, haven't really thought about it.

"When I came here, I signed a five-year contract. My belief in my own abilities and my experiences was to try to come and make a difference in a positive way. Some people might decide it's been a negative way, but I wake up every day and look in the mirror like everybody else and I judge myself. I'm as hard on myself as anybody. I've gone through four years, I've got a year to go. I've got nine grandchildren, four children and I've still got a lot of ton of energy and a ton of passion. The last time that I was the general manager of a Stanley Cup championship team was 2008. That's a player's lifetime. I think that's going to be 16 years ago. I would love to do that one more time.

"I think we've got a group of players and a team that can make it happen, but it doesn't just happen. So beyond that, I haven't really thought about it. "Certainly, they're [Oilers PR] telling me, I'm not on social media so I got these people here telling me that 'this is going on and that's going on,' and there's this speculation. I'm not sure where all the speculation comes from. I'm enjoying the job. I'm enjoying the challenge.

"Massively, massively disappointed that we didn't go farther. But I also have a total respect for Vegas. They beat us. They had more points than we did over 82 games. We got our opportunity to play them head-to-head over a two-week tournament, and they won four and we won two. I've been around the National Hockey League a long time. I know how hard it is to win, and they won and we didn't. But I also know that we've got, in my opinion, a hell of a hockey team. Most of those players in that locker room are in the prime of their careers, so it's not like we're going away and the team is an old team. I've managed some old teams in Detroit. The core is at the prime of their career. I feel good that some of the younger players have started to kind of pitch in in a bigger way than they maybe did two years ago, but I think that's evolution, that's growth, and that's a good thing.

"So for me personally, I think hopefully that's answered. I'm enjoying the challenge. I've got a year to go. I've got unfinished business, and I know that the next eight weeks are always key weeks. We're making decisions now that are building the team for September and 2023-24, and we had talked about how Bouchard and McLeod are Restricted Free Agents and Kostin is a Restricted Free Agent, and I've got a built-in raise there with Skinner. Certainly, the cap is going from $82.5 million to $83.5 million. I know I've got a little bit of money coming off there -- Lucic is now coming off at $750,000 and I know we've got the $1.5 million from Sekera that was on a buyout.

"The cap's going up $1 million, there's $1.5 million from Sekera, there's $750,000 from Lucic, so there's $3.75 million. You're pecking away, but I do know that there are some really difficult decisions that have to be made. But we're not the only team. I'm not the only organization that's got to make difficult cap decisions. Most or many of the elite teams… not everybody, but lots of teams are in the same boat that we're in and I'm going to go through the process.

"This week, it's exit interviews with all the players. I spent all yesterday morning for about four-or-five hours with the coaches. I'll meet with Jay again, the pro scouts, and be ready to go into the Draft. Last year, we went to the Draft and made a decision to trade Zack Kassian and freed up some cap space. Then you go through July 1 and it's the same. It's what, the 27th time or 28th time I've had to do this? So I kind of know the process and I know the challenges; I know the way it works, and we're going to make all those decisions and be ready to roll in September."

On the growing role of Steve Staios as Assistant General Manager:

"When he came on board this year, he did player development because we didn't really have anybody there and we kind of also didn't have an Ontario scout. So certainly, we would like to hire an Ontario scout. I think that Steve should do more of the things that an assistant general manager does. What is an assistant? There are different assistant general managers and different roles.

"Keith Gretzky's really responsible for Bakersfield. He's there every day, and I think it's important that team wins and that our young players get an opportunity, but they're also not entitled. He's there on an everyday basis working with the coach. Bill Scott's an Assistant GM who works with me on all the 'capology' and the contracts and the business of hockey. Then, I've got my son Brad, who runs the pro scouting and does all that information, so the one other thing that an Assistant GM can do -- they go to games. I'm going to bring up a couple of names because I came from Detroit -- Pat Verbeek, that's what he did for Steve Yzerman when he worked for Steve. I saw Shawn Horcoff. I hired Horcoff to be the Director of Player Development for Detroit when I was there, and now he's an Assistant GM. Assistant GMs go to games, they go to pro games, they go to NHL games, they go to American League games and he's the right-hand man in the decision-making process or one of the right-hand men. When it's to make a trade, time to make decisions on free agency, time to adjust, that's what Jim Nill did for me in Detroit. Now, Jim Nill was more running the amateur scouting, but he was my right-hand man, but I had other people that were there.

"I think for Steve Staios, he's obviously been a player in the league. He's been a Director of Player Development with Toronto and he's been an Assistant Coach. He's been behind the bench with Toronto. He took over the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, built them into one of the best junior programs in the country, and obviously being a former Oiler, he wanted to come and join the Oilers and pitch in and help us have success. But at the same time, I think I would like him to grow as a young executive and I think that he won't do the same things that he did last year. He'll do more things that I would deem an Assistant GM would do. Like I said, I bring up Shawn Horcoff and Pat Verbeek, who I hired in 2008 to be a pro scout for the Red Wings and left with Steve in 2010 to go to Tampa. So I think he could do that, which would help me, but it would also help him and his career."

On Evan Bouchard needing a new contract, either long-term or a bridge deal, as a Restricted Free Agent:

"Well, the contract's got to work. I've got to talk to his agent. I think obviously, he's getting a raise. There's no doubt he's getting a raise. Stuart Skinner has already got a raise. He's gone from $750,000 to $2.6 million [average annual value], so these are all factoring into my decision. I don't know if it's a bridge or not. I got to talk to his agent. I've got my thoughts. I don't want to negotiate in the papers. It takes two to tango, and we'll find a solution."

On the Oilers developing into a four-line team with superstar talent at the top:

"I think there are four-line teams that are out. I'd like to think we were a four-line team. I think we had, what, eleven forwards get ten goals or more this year? Then we added Nick Bjugstad, so we really had twelve forwards that had ten goals or more. I think when you guys watch our team, you know how good Connor and Leon are, so I think they're going to play more. They're great players, but I do think over 82 games we were a four-line team. For the most part, I think for sure we were a three-line team. I think that our depth up front contributed to us being tied for sixth overall and scoring the most goals in the National Hockey League.

"Now, Connor had 160 points. I'm not blind to that. So I think these games, at this time of the year, are decided by [experience]. It's why Detroit couldn't win the cup in '94, '95 and '96 before that same group of players won the cup in '97 and '98. It's like that group of players we put together in '06 in Detroit and lost to Edmonton in the first round and won the cup in '08. I didn't build a new team, so I believe that this team that we've got in there, but there are other teams that are like us that are out. Vegas missed the playoffs last year. They're in the final four. That's the league. That's the league and you've got to stick with it.

"Dallas the other night, was 1-0 in the third period and then it was 2-0 late [against Seattle]. Then it's 2-1 and we lost 4-3 in Game 5 off three goals in was it, a minute and 49 seconds or something other than that? But that's why you stick with it. If I thought were a million miles away, I'd be in here talking to you about a rebuild. We're not a million miles away. We're right there. We have a really good hockey team. There are other really good hockey teams on the sidelines. Vegas was a really good team last year that had bad things going on with injuries, and they got their team together and they have a real hockey team. They won the West. They had the most points in the West. They're in the final four. So, we've got to stick with it. There is no magic wand."

On the importance of winning in the next two years with McDavid and Draisaitl in their primes:

"Well, very important. I traded two firsts at the deadline for Ekholm. I traded a second last year for Kulak, and traded lots and lots of picks. I signed Evander Kane to a four-year deal. I think these are players that have an impact. I want you to know I'm trying. We're trying. Other teams are trying. Winning the Stanley Cup, it's hard. We're there and we're banging away. We're pushing. We're pushing.

"Our guys came out here and they're devastated. I'm devastated. The fan base is devastated. Why are we devastated? Because we went 14-0-1 heading into the playoffs. We had the second-best record in the National Hockey League behind Boston since the first of January. Boston is devastated. Teams that are out are devastated. We're devastated."

"I got guys telling me they're going to the gym next week. They're not going on vacation and they're going to work. These other teams are going to work. That's what these NHL players do. They take a week after the season, they get back in the gym and they go. Teams that missed the playoffs are devastated. They missed the playoffs, so there are no guarantees, givens and entitlements because of this and because of that. It's earned; it's sacrificed; it's sticking to what you believe and you believe you're good. That's how you become the last team standing, and they're devastated. My guys are devastated. They were out here yesterday and they want to win the cup for this city and for themselves. These four teams that are left, they want to do the same thing. We're devastated. I'm devastated. My coaching staff, we're disappointed. We're not the only ones, and I think we've got to think that we've got some great players and we're supposed to [win].

"Those great players that we've got are digging in, and I want you to know I'm digging in. I want you to know my coaching staff is digging in and I want you to know every one of my players is digging in. I got Keith Gretzky digging in to try and bring our players along, and we've talked about we're digging in. But there are 31 other organizations digging in.

"That's why I told you guys, when you win the Stanley Cup, boy do you party. Because it's not a one-year quest -- it's a lifetime quest. Do you know what I mean? You can't party enough when you win that thing. It's a party machine because it's so hard to get your hands on, and I want you to know, I want our fans to know, that we're trying."

"My players are devastated. We talked to them and hey're devastated for themselves. They're devastated for the fans. I know the fans are devastated, but I want everyone to know we're not the only one. There are 31 teams that are at different stages of that disappointment. So we're going to get up off the mat here and we're going to get back at it in September, and we're going to try to put ourselves back in the same position that were this year in the playoffs of feeling good and believing. Then we're going to try again."

On how he can help the team reduce goals against, as echoed in the end-of-season statements of his Oilers players:

"I think everybody can play defence. I think it's a commitment; it's a desire; it's a determination. I think that the disappointments, the devastating losses -- when [Detroit] lost in the first round to Edmonton in '06 and we won the cup in '08, I didn't get 20 different players. I'd love to look at the roster, but probably of those 23 guys who were on our roster in '06, around 16, 17, 18 or 19 of them were probably on that team in '08. It's the same players just doing some things differently. I just can't go out and get a whole bunch of different players. It's being in these situations over and over and over again and understanding.

"As a manager, I've got to make a few tweaks and I've got to make some changes. I've got to make some massive changes, or for the coach, he's got to make some adjustments and maybe we've got do this or change the way we play in neutral zone. Every player goes back and looks in the mirror and decides, 'I've got to do this or I've got to do that.'

On the implementation of more restrictions around the use of LTIR (Long Term Injured Reserve) when it comes to teams surpassing the Salary Cap following the regular season:

"My feelings today [media member] are that Vegas beat us. They were a better team. We weren't good enough. We've got to do better.

"This team that we've got, I really believe in them. I believe in the leadership, I believe in the skill and I believe in the heart. I believe in the character. LTIR is a story for me for the general manager meetings, whenever they are. We weren't good enough. Not that we weren't good enough talent-wise, but those moments that you're talking about that determine the season, that's what I care about right now. So at the end of the day, Vegas played by the rules. They were the better team. I don't want to take anything away from what Vegas did. They beat us over 82 games and they beat us over a best-of-seven series, and they played by the rules. A great job by Kelly McCrimmon, [Bruce] Cassidy and their team.

On Jack Campbell and his assessment of the goaltender after the first year of his five-year contract:

"First off, I think quite often, players that sign long-term big contracts, their biggest contract, feel a ton of pressure to live up to the contract and it puts a lot of stress on them. I know that there are other goalies in the National Hockey League this year that signed big deals a year ago, and year one was a tough go and year two turned out pretty good. I'm believing that year two is going to be pretty good.

On his assessment of Jay Woodcroft's work behind the bench in his first full season as head coach:

"I think he did a great job. From the time that he's taken over, whatever day that was in January last year, we might be top-three or top-four in the league in terms of winning percentage since he took over.

"We went to the final four last year. We got beat by a real team. If you came in here and thought that we were supposed to be moving on and we're supposed to roll over Vegas and just onto the next thing, we got beat by a real hockey team. They've been a real hockey team for five years. They've been a real program since they got awarded the expansion franchise. Are they not in the final four for the third time in five years? Four out of six? You don't fluke that. This is the NHL. You might be able to fluke a year. That's a real program that we're playing, so at the end of the day, what do I think the job that Jay Woodcroft did? I think Jay's done a great job. I think he's a great young coach, and I reflect back on my time when I was a young general manager and probably doing some things a little bit differently now than I would at that point in time. But that's what experience is and I'm sure you might do some things a little bit differently when you were young than you would now, so I think that's what experience gives you.

"I think he's a great young coach. He's a great communicator and has a great relationship with our top players. The players believe in the system. This year, the first half of the year, we couldn't quite get it going. I think we were 7-3 in the first ten, and then the next 30 we were around .500. Then, I thought the second half of year, we played at a real high level. So what do I think of Jay Woodcroft or what do I think of the job he's done? I think he's done a great job. I think he's a great young coach, and we're lucky to have him."