It's official — Ken Holland has been named the next General Manager and President of Hockey Operations of the Edmonton Oilers.
The NHL club introduced Holland at a news conference at Rogers Place, confirming earlier media reports that he was set to take over the struggling team from interim GM Keith Gretzky.
Holland led the Detroit Red Wings to 25 straight playoff appearances and four Stanley Cup titles. But after years of success, the Red Wings have missed the playoffs the last three seasons and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the three campaigns before that.
The Red Wings promoted Holland to senior vice president in April after hiring Steve Yzerman as general manager, but Holland will get to remain in a more hands-on position with the move to Edmonton.
The Oilers have made the playoffs just once since advancing to the Stanley Cup final in 2006, and the club hopes Holland is the GM who can finally build a contender around superstar captain Connor McDavid.
— With files from The Canadian Press