TALKING POINTS: Holland on Trade Deadline acquisitions

ANAHEIM, CA - Oilers GM and President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland spoke to the media following the club's multiple acquisitions before the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday.
The Oilers acquired forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Ryan Kuffner from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Sam Gagner (10% salary retained) and Edmonton's own second-round draft pick in 2020 and Edmonton's own second-round pick in 2021.
Holland also acquired Ottawa Senators forward Tyler Ennis for a fifth-round draft pick in 2021 and goaltender Angus Redmond from the Anaheim Ducks for a seventh-round draft pick in 2022 and defenceman Joel Persson.
On Sunday, the Oilers acquired defenceman Mike Green from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Kyle Brodziak and a conditional draft pick.
Read the full transcript of his availability below.

Q: Summarize how you feel about the things you were able to get done day and a half.
A: Coming into the Trade Deadline, first off, we're in a race to make the playoffs. So we tried to add some offence down the stretch. Obviously, Athanasiou is a player I know well from Detroit. He had 30 goals a year ago. We gave up two second-round draft picks and obviously it's more than a rental. He's a restricted free agent for a couple of years. Then, with about an hour to go, I acquired Tyler Ennis for a fifth-round draft pick. Obviously he's a guy that's been around the National Hockey League and is having a good season with 14 goals.
Both shoot left. We have lots of right-wingers, so this gets us a little bit deeper and gives the coaches some options on their line combinations. Obviously the uncertainty, we've been talking a lot about James Neal still two-to-three weeks away. It's going to take a while here for Nygard with his hand to get going, so they give us some insurance as we head down the stretch in our pursuit of a playoff spot.

Q: Thoughts on Athanasiou - he's a bit of a lightning rod. Is it like most young players or is that something you'll have to work with?
A: He's a talented player and I think he's having a tough year. I think he's a talented player and we're hoping that with what we've got here in Edmonton and our coaching staff that we can get the best out of him.
Q: Do you see Mike Green running your power play, and does giving Klefbom a few less minutes a night perhaps make him a better player?
A: First off, I'm not the coach. My job is to bring in players, and then it's up to the coaching staff to decide how they're going to be used. So I think that's a question you should ask tomorrow for Coach Tippett.
My job I think coming into the deadline, are you a buyer or a seller? Or do you feel like you should stand pat? As we went into this, we felt that we'd like to do something to put a little buzz into our team. They've played hard all year. They've battled and scratched and clawed. We've got ourselves in a position where we're fighting for a playoff spot. We're banged up a little bit, and I wanted to provide some depth.
We use the fifth-round pick to acquire Ennis. It's a fourth-round pick that goes to a third if we make it to the Final Four for Green. Obviously, we give up two second-round draft picks for Athanasiou. So we paid a relatively big price for Athanasiou. But again, it's not a rental. He's a restricted free agent. In terms of how they're going to be used, who they're playing with, what are the line combinations, who's running the power play, that's up for the coaching staff to decide going forward.

Q: Did you feel you needed to give your coaching staff a faster set of forwards? Did you need to increase your speed?
A: I think you want to have a fast team. I think we've got some players on the team that can play fast.
I use the word 'dimensions'. You need lots of dimensions. You need size, you need some big guys, you need some defensive forwards, you need some offensive forwards, you need some playmakers. Certainly Ennis, Athanasiou, and Green - they're all guys who can skate. I like a team that can skate, I like a team that can compete, but not everybody has to skate fast.
Q: Did you go into this saying: 'I have to find somebody for Connor to play with?'
A: I went into this thinking we needed to get more upfront. Again, I'm going to come back to the Neal injury and back to the Nygard injury. Those two, in particular, are going to be a while here. They both shoot left, they both play left wing for the most part, and we're in pursuit of trying to get into the playoffs. Athanasiou shoots left and plays left wing, Ennis shoots left and plays left wing. They can go over to the other side.
Obviously it was a difficult meeting with Sam Gagner, who I know loves being an Oiler. Certainly, as we worked our way through the cap, we had to in effect move Sam's contract to make room to add a contract. On one hand, I'm excited about what we were able to accomplish. Tippett and I met with Sam and told him the news, and those are never easy decisions. These are people and they've got lives and emotions. So on the other hand, it was a tough day.
Q: Have you moved anyone on to LTIR (Long Term Injury Reserve) to make cap space?
A: Kris Russell last night. Today, we assigned Tyler Benson back to Bakersfield.
(Following Holland's media avail, the Oilers officially assigned forward Tyler Benson to Bakersfield (AHL) and both assigned and recalled defenceman William Lagesson to and from Bakersfield in order to make him eligible for the remainder of the AHL season. Then, the Oilers placed Kris Russell on LTIR.)
Q: Does that mean you're on the hook for any bonuses next year? Will those get pushed into next year's cap?
A: Possibly. It depends what goes on the next four or five weeks.
Q: The Russell situation you said was 'murky'. Is that one of those (situations) that are difficult?
A: I don't know and I'm not sure where he's at.
Q: On his good nights, what are fans in Edmonton expecting from Athanasiou?
A: Obviously he's got great speed. He's got high-end skill, he's a talented player, and he's 25 years of age. He's not 21 or 22, he's 25 years of age and we're hoping that his best years are ahead of him.

Q: He plays well and you can get him signed to a long-term contract.
A: I don't think that far out. What I'm thinking is I traded two second-round draft picks, we've got a talented young player, and we own his rights for two more years after this year. I'll worry about the contract in the summertime as I continue to watch, but certainly we can put in a qualifying offer and head down that path.
Q: You now have a first-rounder and possibly not another pick until the fifth round (in 2020). So are you looking at how in the summer you can get some of those picks back?
Yeah. I think at the end of the day today, my message is we're trying to win. I've come to Edmonton and we've got a great nucleus. They've played hard to put ourselves in a position where we can compete for a playoff spot. The last three years, I was a seller in Detroit and we made the playoffs for 25 years before. It's fun to be in the playoffs and it's fun for the fans, for the players, to have an opportunity against a team head-to-head for two weeks. Then, if you're able to win that, move on to the next round and be in the final eight, be in the final four…
I get back to again that it's a fifth-round pick and it's a fourth-round pick (for Green). Certainly, we paid a price for Athanasiou and no risk, no gain. I can sit around and do nothing, I can puddle around, and at the end of the day the coaching staff have worked incredibly hard on a day-to-day basis starting from Day 1 of Training Camp, going back to summertime, and I think that our players have worked extremely hard and bought into everything the coaching staff has asked of them. I like that our team comes to work every day, they compete, we're playing good defence, we're finding different ways to win, and we have different people stepping up.
We lost Connor for a period of six games and went 3-2-1, so I felt like I had an obligation to try to pitch in and help out. We're trying to build a program and certainly we're in a real race. There's no guarantee we're going to make the playoffs, so that's why with Athanasiou, if you don't make the playoffs, we still have Athanasiou. It wasn't just done for this year. I just think it was my time to try to pitch in for a group of people that have worked extremely hard to put ourselves in the position.

Q: Do you feel more comfortable that you acquired two guys from Detroit? Did that have any bearing on how you looked at them compared to other players?
A: First off, I would say to you that I've got a group of pro scouts. Then, over the course of the last two weeks leading up to whatever decisions we did make or didn't make over the last 24 hours, I would talk to (video coach) Coupal. I would talk to Tippett. I would talk to Jim Playfair. We would look at all these players and they looked at video. Talking to my coaches and talking to my pro scouts, eventually we worked our way towards a decision. Certainly, it's not just me stepping up and telling all these guys I'm going to start picking Detroit players. The people that are on the staff have had significant input into the decision-making process.
Q: Not giving up a first-rounder, that was always a no go?
A: Yes.
Q: For a rental or for anybody?
A: I don't know about that. To trade the first-round pick, there was never any conversations and no player was ever offered to me. Nobody ever asked about that.
Q: A very busy Deadline Day for you. Did you ever come close to getting a centre of did you try for that?
A: I did not, no.