Holland barely scratched the surface of the NHL as a player, but his work as an executive earned him a berth in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Holland was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 12th round (No. 188) of the 1975 NHL Draft. The goalie played professionally for eight seasons but most of that time was spent in the minor leagues. His NHL experience consisted of four games, one with the Hartford Whalers in 1980-81 and three with the Detroit Red Wings in 1983-84. He was 0-2 with one tie, a 4.96 goals-against average and an .825 save percentage.

His playing career ended after the 1984-85 season, when he went 13-22 with six ties in 43 games with Adirondack, Detroit's affiliate in the American Hockey League. Holland considered going to college and even weighed the option of becoming a vacuum cleaner salesman; instead, the 29-year-old took a job as a scout for the Red Wings.

"Funny how life goes," he said of the career crossroads that started him on the path to the Hall of Fame.

Holland worked his way up to director of amateur scouting in 1987, and in 1994 he was named assistant general manager, the title he held when the Red Wings ended a 42-year championship drought by winning the Stanley Cup in 1997. On July 18, 1997, the Red Wings promoted Holland to GM and executive vice president, replacing Scotty Bowman, who had been GM and coach.

"I was very fortunate ... my first NHL general manager job in Detroit was with a team that had just won the Stanley Cup with a real core," he said. "Most GMs are taking over a team on the rebuild."

Holland became one of the most successful general managers in NHL history. The Red Wings repeated as Stanley Cup champions in 1998, won again in 2002 and 2008, and got to Game 7 of the Cup Final in 2009 before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Under Holland's leadership the Red Wings finished with at least 100 points 14 times, won its division 10 times, reached the conference final five times and won the Presidents' Trophy as the best regular-season team in the NHL four times. They qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Holland's first 18 seasons, part of a run of 25 consecutive seasons through 2015-16.

The Red Wings named Holland a senior vice president April 19, 2019, when Steve Yzerman was named general manager. But 18 days later, on May 7, 2019, Holland left to become general manager of the Edmonton Oilers.

Holland's accomplishments were recognized in 2020 when he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• NAHL Second All-Star Team (1977)
• AHL Second All-Star Team (1982)
• Signed as a free agent by Hartford, July 17, 1980.
• Signed as a free agent by Detroit, July 6, 1983.