TALKING POINTS: Ken Holland discusses the 2022 NHL Draft and more

MONTREAL, QC - Oilers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Ken Holland spoke to the media in Montreal on Wednesday ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Holland touched on a variety of topics including the plans with the 29th-overall pick, NHL Free Agency, and more. Read the full transcript from Wednesday's interview or watch it below:

Holland on the last 24 to 48 hours:
"Lots of phone calls. We'll see what comes of it. Obviously talking to agents for some of our players and pretty well all of the General Managers. I can't tell you anything is really going on right now, but you never know when something does happen."
On if he expects to move the 29th overall pick:
"I'm expecting that we're going to use it as we speak. I'm expecting we're going to make a pick. Right now I am (picking 29). We're not going to trade up and I don't think anyone is going to trade up now, but if you have someone falling and the phone rings we'll explore it at the time."
On if he would like clarity on the Evander Kane contract situation with San Jose:
"I would, but unfortunately, it's not a perfect world. It is what it is."
On conversations he's had with Kane's camp:
"I've had lots of talks. I was with Dan Milstein (Kane's agent) yesterday and the day before. I've had lots of talks with him. We're tight on the cap. Many teams are tight on the cap. I think sometimes we're all going to have to get to a place, maybe the 13th of July to see what's going on."
If he believes Kane will test the market during free agency:
"I don't know, I plan to talk again. We're a week away and at this stage of the game, anything's a possibility. I'm not up here saying we're close to a deal, but you can wake up tomorrow and things change. Is there a possibility he's on the market on July 13? Absolutely."

On NHL Free Agency and the other offseason plans:
"I would say this to you, I'm interested to see what goes on, on the 13th of July. In talking to many managers, lots are in the same situation that we're in. The cap has only gone up a million dollars and restricted free agents are looking for salary increases, so the market is tight. It's going to be an interesting next 7-10 days to see what's going on."
On what he expects regarding the Oilers goaltending situation:
"With Kosky for sure being gone; and I met with Smitty and had breakfast with him the other day he's banged up pretty bad. You guys talked to him at the end of the year. Obviously, I'd like to in the next 10 days have something done in net."
On actively seeking a goalie in the trade market:
"A little bit. I would bank on the free-agent route, but you never know. I don't know what tomorrow's going to bring. You make all these calls and I'll talk to a few more people and keep pecking away."
On trade activity picking up with GMs all in the same place:
"I don't know if it matters, but it's more fun I guess to see some faces."
"Up until today, I'm on the phone from one hotel to another hotel. They could be wherever, and it wouldn't matter. Today was good. I got here at 12 o'clock and for an hour I talked to 6-8 managers face to face. It maybe makes a little bit of a difference, but the world we live in today with these phones I don't know if will affect a deal one way or another."
On Jesse Puljujarvi's status with the team:
"It can stretch all summer if we wanted it to."
"I've talked to all the managers I think I need to talk to about the things I'm looking at. I have an idea where I'm at."

On the potential for a buyout this offseason:
"I'm considering it, but I'm hoping I'm not going to have to do that."
On the situation around Russian players on and off the Oilers roster:
"Samorukov is in Edmonton and I'm not sure where Petrov is. That was last week I saw Sammy. We're all concerned with what's going on in Ukraine and Russia. It's again, you try to handle it the best you can, on a day-to-day basis."
"First off, it's out of my control, but certainly we're all concerned about how things are going on in the world. I don't think Samorukov is going back because he understands that this is a very big season in his career. He's a waiver player for the first time and he wants to play in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. We have him, Broberg, niemelainen, Desharnais, and Bouchard so he's in a competition. I do plan that one of those young defencemen is going to be on our team for sure, maybe two. I told them that face to face at the end of the year. We're trying to win and if I have to put someone back in the AHL or waivers, I'm prepared to do that. My understanding is (Samorukov) is staying in Edmonton all summer so he's ready to rock and roll when training camp starts in September."
On drafting a Russian player and if the current situation pushes them down the draft board:
"I've talked to Tyler Wright about that and we're going to talk again tonight. He's going to make the final decision on the board and I'll make the final decision on the player. We'll see. If you're picking at 29, we'll play it by ear."
Where he stands philosophically when it comes to adding the head coach to the draft process:
"I haven't been there in a while. I would say that you're looking for as much information as you can when you make decisions. Certainly, when we're talking about free agents, I ask my coach his opinion quite often. I ask 2-3-4 best players their opinion in some situations."

On the turnover of the roster from last season to this season:
"There's usually turnover in the offseason. Possibly could be a little more than normal. Right off the top, we're talking about goaltenders. For the last three years we had the same two goaltenders. There's a chance we have two different goalies. Stuart Skinner is a waiver player now. Is there going to be change? I d expect there is going to be. I said at the end of the year there is no chance we bring the same team back. I'm exploring. We talked about buyouts, trades, the status of Keith and Smith, what's going on with Evander. These are all balls that are bouncing around, I'm just trying to eventually make some decisions."
On the changing face of front offices (such as Mike Grier and Hayley Wickenheiser):
"It's fabulous and it's going to continue. To bring minorities and women into our sport. You think about all the women players on the national teams, they've been playing the game of hockey since they've been little girls just like the little boys. It was great to see Mike Grier in there. I met him for the first time, I followed his career but hadn't really met him. It's great for our league and I would expect it's going to continue."
On high-profile players and the difficulty making deals for those types of players:
"It's gotten harder in a cap world because of money. I think back to pre '05 maybe there were eight teams that could legitimately win the Stanley cup. In the West it was Dallas, Detroit, and Colorado; and in the East, it was New Jersey, Philly, Toronto and the Rangers. Now that list of eight is probably 16. There are more teams that if they could not win the cup, they can make the playoffs and go on a run. Because of competitive balance and the salary cap, those are factors that make it difficult to make those kinds of deals. Those deals are happening where one team is in a rebuild and the other is up at the top. All the stars have got to align and they don't that often."
"I think you have to think about when's your window, how good can we be, and does this take us to another level. The trade has to work for both teams. If you're getting the player now, you're trying to do something for a team that's building down the road. They're out there, there's not many of them."
On if he has seen the Detroit Red Wings & Colorado Avalanche documentary:
"I have not. Was it good? I will watch it one day, but I lived it. The emotions were very real. Kris Draper got badly hurt. He's really intense. It wasn't like it was one year, it was about seven years of intense rivalry. For intense players, over time it probably goes a little bit, but Drapes was drilled into the boards and his face was rearranged so I don't blame him (for having hard feelings)."