Fire Ken Holland Thread

[PostBradMalone]

This team could lose in the scf and you'd still be crying mediocrity.

Keep grasping at straws this hard you'll end up sucking up golf balls through a hose

How about Holland build a team capable of reaching the SCF first?

 

[CycloneSweep]

Only thing he hasn’t really done this off season is improve the defence. Which he still has time for. There was next to zero good defence free agents that were a fit outside of Kulak and there is still time for a trade so it’s still fixable or we run with what we have + rookie with Barrie and go from there which is less than ideal but it’s possible.

That said anything can happen. Calgarys defence looked like diddly squat on paper till it looked good in the regular season. So who knows.

 

[Rengorlex]

Only thing he hasn’t really done this off season is improve the defence. Which he still has time for. There was next to zero good defence free agents that were a fit outside of Kulak and there is still time for a trade so it’s still fixable or we run with what we have + rookie with Barrie and go from there which is less than ideal but it’s possible.

That said anything can happen. Calgarys defence looked like diddly squat on paper till it looked good in the regular season. So who knows.

Really excited to see where a full year of Woodcroft will take us too.

 

[KCC]

How about Holland build a team capable of reaching the SCF first?

Well, he brought back Kane and Kulak who were both essential to getting EDM to the WCF and filled a hole in getting Campbell. Still need to improve the defense but they are getting there.

 

[Kaptah]

LOL. Gotta love the anti-Holland crowd. Oilers seem to be the only organization that experience and natural player progression doesn't take place, but when it happens for other teams they drool and pine

As an adult, do you find the acronym "LOL" childish? And what would you replace it with in texting?'

Answer (1 of 5): Except for the fact that it mostly seems to be applied by people under 30, I don’t necessarily find it childish. Acronyms, (or indeed, any abbreviations) aren’t childish as such. But I do find “LOL” utterly redundant, and the frequency of its use obnoxious, since nobody, - and I ...

www.quora.com

 

[centipede2233]

So they basically have the same defence minus Keith, Edmonton gave up 59 goals in 16 gp. Mike smith had a +1.9 GSAE. The defence is an issue…

 

[Bryanbryoil]

So they basically have the same defence minus Keith, Edmonton gave up 59 goals in 16 gp. Mike smith had a +1.9 GSAE. The defence is an issue…

It would be great if we could get an upgrade on D but time will tell if Holland can pull it off this offseason or not.

 

[LTIR]

In no way Evander Kane is better than Johnny Gaudreau. With those contracts and fit that Oilers need, Kane could be better option. But not the best available winger.

And Darcy Kuemper was clearly the best and most established goalie available. Campbell has played one year as a starter in NHL. Kuemper has multiple years as a starter. And stats from that one season when Campbell was starter.

Last season

Campbell 49 games 0.914%, -2.3GSAx
Kuemper 57 games 0.921%, +21 GSAx

Better off-season so far from Holland, compared to last year. Liked Kulak and Kane signings. We will see how he handles Pulju and Yama situations. Defense is still the weak compared to many contenders. Goaltending is a question mark, but that is the case for most of the teams.

Kane's skillset is better than Gaudreau for what the Oilers need. Also, I said available...doubt Johnny was 'available' to sign in Edmonton even if we could afford to waste 10M per on him

So they basically have the same defence minus Keith, Edmonton gave up 59 goals in 16 gp. Mike smith had a +1.9 GSAE. The defence is an issue…

Pretty good outcome considering the cap bumps for Nurse and Kane.

Time for one of Broberg/Neimelainen and Samaroukov to step up

 

[harpoon]

As an adult, do you find the acronym "LOL" childish? And what would you replace it with in texting?'

Answer (1 of 5): Except for the fact that it mostly seems to be applied by people under 30, I don’t necessarily find it childish. Acronyms, (or indeed, any abbreviations) aren’t childish as such. But I do find “LOL” utterly redundant, and the frequency of its use obnoxious, since nobody, - and I ...

www.quora.com

Posted yesterday.

LOL at bolding afterwards

How low can you go?

Maybe you can get us the link bobby? And please tell us again how Pulju taking short shifts is a bad thing.

Posted earlier in the week.

LOL. Only thing on your side is your "eye test", and you talk about facts

 

[Kaptah]

Posted yesterday.

Busted!

 

[Barrsy]

How about Holland build a team capable of reaching the SCF first?

Yes, if you dont make the SCF you are a bad GM & an abject failure.
Some people

Exactly
I don’t know if he ever gets his glass 1/2 full because it’s always more then 1/2 empty


So
The floor is all yours
What would be your idea of a good offseason with the cap situation we had

Don't bother. In his delusional world there aren't 32 teams.There is no one competing for Oiler offers.
Thinking for some does not exist.

 

[joestevens29]

God Bless Ken Holland
Remember when we all wanted Kelly McCrimmon to take the GM vacancy 3 yrs ago?
He's destroyed Vegas' future, trying to annually relive that inaugural season Cinderella run.
Traded away Nick Suzuki for a 30 yr old Paciorertty, who he just gave away for free a few days ago. Traded away two young 1st round centers in Krebs and Glass, and inherited the Eichel curse.
Imagine what he would've done here. Holland is almost the complete opposite, and stingy with his prospects

Also, I was under the assumption that Keith Gretzky would take the reins post Holland, but looks like he's buttering up his son to take the throne

I don't even know how much of that is McCrimmon and how much is ownership.

Really excited to see where a full year of Woodcroft will take us too.

Between him and Manson it'll be quite interesting to see.

 

[GOilers88]

LOL. Gotta love the anti-Holland crowd. Oilers seem to be the only organization that experience and natural player progression doesn't take place, but when it happens for other teams they drool and pine

We don’t want to give our young growing players a chance to take a regular spot. We need to keep trading for and signing new, better players while always being at the cap because we never have room for any of the aforementioned guys to play.

I agree, I’d love to see us bring in another top 4 defender. But I also don’t think it’s the end of the world if we don’t. We can look at guys like Broberg, Neimo and Samorukov and see what they have to start the year and there’s plenty of time to make a trade during the season.

 

[Soundwave]

We don’t want to give our young growing players a chance to take a regular spot. We need to keep trading for and signing new, better players while always being at the cap because we never have room for any of the aforementioned guys to play.

I agree, I’d love to see us bring in another top 4 defender. But I also don’t think it’s the end of the world if we don’t. We can look at guys like Broberg, Neimo and Samorukov and see what they have to start the year and there’s plenty of time to make a trade during the season.

To start the season no I don't think it's that big of a deal but he does need to add a top 4 D at some point during the season.

This isn't a daycare, you can't be running like 3-4 inexperienced D-Men in and out of a pro NHL roster that's looking to go to the Finals. Even with Bouchard who by now is more experienced than the Brobergs/Nemos/etc., there are plenty of headaches and growing pains.

We need a reliable top 4 D who knows how to defend first and foremost and ideally has a physical edge to their game.

I'm willing to be flexible on when that player is added, but it better be this season at some point.

 

[GOilers88]

To start the season no I don't think it's that big of a deal but he does need to add a top 4 D at some point during the season.

This isn't a daycare, you can't be running like 3-4 inexperienced D-Men in and out of a pro NHL roster that's looking to go to the Finals.

Fully agree. I think we need to turn Barrie into a legit defender.

But if we can’t, or don’t during the off-season I don’t think it’s the biggest problem in the world. I’m okay with seeing what our prospects can do. Samo is at a point where I think he either shows or goes. If Neimo improves I think he’s a solid bottom pairing guy which means we don’t need to look for more depth defenders. And who knows with Broberg. Maybe we finally get a prospect who takes the reigns and runs. Only one way to find out.

 

[fireantz]

Need Bouchard to move up so Ceci can pair with Broberg or the other prospects

 

[SaltNPeca]

How about Holland build a team capable of reaching the SCF first?

> Ran a team capable of making playoffs every year of his tenure.
> Appears to be building a team capable of attracting free agents, retaining top talent, and discount signings all in a Northerly Canadian small market.
> Team dressing room has never been healthier in terms of drama, cohesion, will to win, leadership, etc. since 1990 or so.
> Fired his first coach in-season and showed faith in his staff with glorious results to save the season.
> Sacrificed nearly nothing along the way

He is a bit slow and meandering in his approach, but I find the steady hand refreshing af.

 

[phrenssoa]

The problem I have with blaming Holland is that the Oilers were universally regarded as a Cup contender going into the season.. virtually everyone thought we would be at least as good as last year.

As a result I can’t help but put most of the blame on the players. Guys like Bouchard, McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, McLeod, Skinner, etc. are not playing NEAR the level they are capable of. Of course Holland is to blame for a couple of bad contracts, the latest being Connor Brown, but it does feel like the regression comes directly from the players more so than the personnel.

That being said I’m not gonna lose sleep over his departure, but I do believe he made a valiant attempt at getting this team to the ultimate goal, it just didn’t work out.

 

[Soundwave]

The problem I have with blaming Holland is that the Oilers were universally regarded as a Cup contender going into the season.. virtually everyone thought we would be at least as good as last year.

As a result I can’t help but put most of the blame on the players. Guys like Bouchard, McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, McLeod, Skinner, etc. are not playing NEAR the level they are capable of. Of course Holland is to blame for a couple of bad contracts, the latest being Connor Brown, but it does feel like the regression comes directly from the players more so than the personnel.

That being said I’m not gonna lose sleep over his departure, but I do believe he made a valiant attempt at getting this team to the ultimate goal, it just didn’t work out.

More like McDavid carried this lame ass GM by scoring at 80s levels. Detroit fans called him washed up and rightly so.

 

[phrenssoa]

More like McDavid carried this lame ass GM by scoring at 80s levels. Detroit fans called him washed up and rightly so.

To my point, McDavid has regressed immensely. And so have many others. That is not Holland’s fault.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Damn thread bumps, I thought he got canned after tonight's loss.

 

[McAsuno]

To my point, McDavid has regressed immensely. And so have many others. That is not Holland’s fault.

All Holland did was sign cardio king in Connor Brown while f***ing up the cap by giving him a 10 game based bonus rather than performance based.

Holland from day 1 to now still has not acquired a NHL starting goaltender, bottom 6 scoring, and a top 4 Dman. Holland doesn't escape any f***ing blame this season. Him sitting on his f***ing ass watching the goalies skewer the team in wins + points and using Woodcroft as the scapegoat is as incompetent as it gets.

 

[Soundwave]

To my point, McDavid has regressed immensely. And so have many others. That is not Holland’s fault.

McDavid is playing through an injury. You can tell a lot about a GM by judging the team he has built with the best player out or limited. 30th place says it all.

Holland is a fraud GM, has regressed the goaltending and D has not improved at all even with him having 5 years to do something about it. Even last year when they rode McPP to success, the defence was bottom half of the league.

Terrible drafting which started in Detroit and continued on here to boot.

Everything Red Wings fans warned us about was spot on with Holland just like Bruins fans warning us about Chiarelli.

 

[McAsuno]

McDavid is playing through an injury. You can tell a lot about a GM by judging the team he has built with the best player out or limited. 30th place says it all.

Holland is a fraud GM, has regressed the goaltending and D has not improved at all even with him having 5 years to do something about it. Even last year when they rode McPP to success, the defence was bottom half of the league.

Terrible drafting which started in Detroit and continued on here to boot.

Everything Red Wings fans warned us about was spot on with Holland just like Bruins fans warning us about Chiarelli.

Don't forget the f***ing dumbass still wanted to re-sign Dave Tippett even after the staggering 10+ game losses in a row. Woodcroft took the blame for this moron being absolute shit of being a GM. The fact that it took Bob Stauffer to get annoyed last year to call out Holland in order to make a f***ing trade already since the team was playing well and deserved some help is astounding.

 

[phrenssoa]

McDavid is playing through an injury. You can tell a lot about a GM by judging the team he has built with the best player out or limited. 30th place says it all.

Holland is a fraud GM, has regressed the goaltending and D has not improved at all even with him having 5 years to do something about it. Even last year when they rode McPP to success, the defence was bottom half of the league.

Terrible drafting which started in Detroit and continued on here to boot.

Everything Red Wings fans warned us about was spot on with Holland just like Bruins fans warning us about Chiarelli.

The McDavid injury excuse is BS.

I agree regarding the drafting, no excuses there. Perhaps the Oilers scouts deserve some flak too.

Campbell was a risk Holland felt he had to take with the limited cap space and few other options, and I think most people around here were optimistic at the time.

The lack of improvement on defence or otherwise is not for a lack of trying. Look no further than the Ekholm trade for example.

The way this team is playing this year is beyond what anyone could have reasonably expected, and the regression appears to be coming from all players at all positions. THAT is hard to pin on the GM. You can blame him for bad contracts and bad drafting all you want but a regression to this extent, in a season where the team is expected to be a Cup contender, is hard to pin on anyone but the players.