Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
When the NHL this week announced longtime GM Ken Holland joined the hockey operations department as a consultant, nobody was all that surprised.
Holland is as experienced of a hockey lifer as they come, and he’s had a slew of success to his credit, including four Stanley Cup championships with Detroit, and a trip to the Cup final last season with Edmonton.
Holland didn’t get another GM job after he and the Oilers chose to part ways this past summer, but Holland could be a great hire for any team that might be changing management soon – and by that, we mean the Buffalo Sabres.
Related: Former Red Wings, Oilers GM Ken Holland Lands New Job With NHL
As we’ve seen thus far this year, the Sabres are well behind the top of the pack in the Atlantic Division. They’re currently seventh in the division, just three standings points ahead of the last-place Montreal Canadiens. That, in our opinion, has put Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams on the hot seat.
Would Sabres ownership look at what the Columbus Blue Jackets did last summer and bring in an experienced hand to run the team, the way the Jackets did by hiring Don Waddell as their GM? Stranger things have happened, to be sure.
Holland doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone in his Hockey Hall of Fame career. But we’d bet that Holland still has the itch to run a team, even one that’s been stunningly unsuccessful the way the Sabres have been in the past decade-and-a-half. And if Holland’s guidance got Buffalo into the playoffs and on a deep run once they got there – the same way he did when he took the Oilers’ job in 2019, Sabres fans would be overjoyed with him.
Like any experienced GM, Holland has had his highs and lows in the talent acquisition department. Oilers observers will be quick to tell you he made some errors in Edmonton, but very few teams and GMs can boast they got within one win of winning a Cup the way the Oilers and Holland did last season. Holland’s pedigree would be the tonic Sabres supporters are seeking right now.
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Adams may have a bit of landing strip left to try and get Buffalo on the right course and into a playoff spot, but if he doesn’t, there will be no shortage of GM candidates for Sabres ownership to consider. Adams already changed the coach twice, and they still haven’t been overly impressive on offense or defense.
Holland can point to his…