Oilers GM Holland 'satisfied' with off-season, may still add to roster
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Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland says he is "satisfied" with how the organization has handled the off-season after an impressive run to the Western Conference Final.
Holland brought back effective in-season pickups in star forward Evander Kane and defenceman Brett Kulak as well as finding a new No. 1 goalie in Jack Campbell and signing depth centre Mattias Janmark.
With the team currently approximately $6 million over the NHL's $82.5 million salary cap, according to CapFriendly.com, Holland told TSN Radio 1260 on Thursday that the Oilers will most likely start the season with 21-22 players on their active roster next season.
However, the current cap crunch doesn't mean Holland is done with his free agent pickups this summer.
“There are some players out there that I’m still kind of looking at for the bottom part of the roster," said the 66-year-old. "Maybe would like to add someone on a one-year deal that is sort of undervalued because they didn’t get swept up over the first couple weeks of free agency. We’ll see, but I am comfortable if we do nothing.”
Holland said he'd ideally like to sign someone in their mid to late 20s. Veteran forward Phil Kessel, who has spent the past three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, is 34 and netted eight goals with 44 assists over 82 games in 2021-22.
“Most everybody that’s on the market, I’m aware of and have talked to their agent so we’ll see," Holland commented on the possibility of adding Kessel who is coming off an eight-year, $64 million contract. "I’m not going to say ‘yes,’ I’m not going to say ‘no.’ I think it depends a little bit on if we doing anything to our lineup between now and the opening of camp.”
The Oilers also recently avoid arbitration with a pair of restricted free agent forwards in Jesse Puljujärvi and Kailer Yamamoto. Holland said the Oilers need continued contributions from their younger players in order to be successful.
“Part of getting better is having youth push their way onto your roster and push their way up the lineup," he said. "Certainly we had a little bit of that happen this year and need more of it to happen.”
Edmonton lost veteran defenceman Duncan Keith and goalie Mike Smith this off-season, but Holland is hopeful they passed their leadership qualities to the rest of the team during their time with the Oilers.
“In those two guys we are going to lose a lot of real veteran leadership, but I’d like to think our team is better prepared with those players being on our team," Holland explained.
Xavier Bourgault, a 19-year-old centre who was drafted 22nd overall in 2021, will have to "force" his way onto the Oilers next season and will likely start with the campaign with AHL's Bakersfield Condors, Holland said.
“Ideally, I think, for player development, time in the American Hockey League is always a good thing. It’s not a bad thing," said Holland. "My message to young kids is come into training camp, have a great training camp, send a message to the manager, send a message to the coach that I’m ready to play in the National Hockey League. Make the coach and the general manager have a real difficult decision about whether you should be on the team or not be on the team.”
Bourgault scored a career-high 36 goals and 39 assists over 43 games with the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes in 2021-22, his fourth season in junior.
The Oilers kick off the preseason on Sept. 25 against the Winnipeg Jets with the regular season getting underway on Oct. 12 against the Vancouver Canucks.