LA Kings Name Ken Holland as Vice President & General Manager

The LA Kings announced today that Ken Holland has been named as the team’s new Vice President and General Manager.

And, thus, the worst-kept secret in hockey has been confirmed, with Holland in Southern California today to meet with staff and to be formally presented tomorrow morning.

Holland, 69, joins the Kings after most recently serving as the President & General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers through 2024. Holland is a four-time Stanley Cup Champion, including three as a general manager, coming with the Detroit Red Wings in 1998, 2002 and 2008, in addition to a championship in 1997 as the club’s assistant general manager. Holland served as the GM with Detroit from 1997 through 2019 before moving on to the Edmonton Oilers from 2019 through 2024, when he and the organization agreed to “mutually” part ways following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. Holland led Edmonton to within one game of another championship last spring as the Oilers ultimately fell in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers. Holland would have been the second person in the modern era to win a Stanley Cup as the General Manager with two separate franchises, joining Jim Rutherford who did so in Carolina and Pittsburgh, something he remains in search of as he joins the Kings. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2021 and is one of two active general managers with that honor who were inducted specifically as a builder, not as a player.

Over the last 7-10 days, Kings President Luc Robitaille has been leading the search. From what I’ve heard here, Robitaille has had several conversations with different candidates both internally and externally, of varying degrees of formality. From the sounds of things, Holland surfaced as the top candidate available pretty early in the process and that is not surprising based on his track record both in Detroit and Edmonton, as well as the available pool of external candidates specifically. Though Holland first talked with Robitaille several days ago, the Kings took the time to flesh out the process, while also understanding that there are key decisions to be made and those decisions can’t be pushed back for too long.

On Holland’s recent track record, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that the 2023-24 Oilers team is the best team they’ve had in a long time and Holland made moves throughout his tenure in Edmonton too build that team. While Holland was not responsible for acquiring Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, which certainly gave him quite the base to work with, he added to that mix with several key secondary pieces who helped Edmonton defeat the Kings three years running and proceed to last season’s Stanley Cup Final. Holland was responsible for acquiring forward Zach Hyman and defenseman Mattias Ekholm, in addition to Evander Kane and Brett Kulak, among others, including current Kings winger Warren Foegele. Fact of the matter is, Edmonton had won just one playoff series in the McDavid/Draisaitl era before Holland arrived and won six during his time there. Lots of factors involved there, including the growth of those two players individually, but Edmonton came out of Holland’s tenure better served for the moves he made, now sitting as a perennial championship contending team.

Not every move Holland made was perfect – Darnell Nurse’s contract at the top of that list – but you can’t deny the track record here or Holland’s place within the landscape of who was available this summer. When you take an objective look at the available candidates, Holland was the clear-cut best option among those who were available externally with past experience as an NHL General Manager. A first-time candidate could certainly have become a terrific fit but that’s an unknown for a team that really isn’t in a position to accept an unknown. In some ways Holland is a safer choice, the known commodity. He’s also got a track record that no other candidate even approaches. The Kings were looking for the right person to take the organization from four consecutive first-round exits to a deeper playoff run. While no two situations are the same, Holland’s track record shows an ability to take teams over that hump, as he did in Edmonton, and that’s exactly what the Kings are hopeful that he is able to do in Los Angeles. Ultimately, we’re in a results-driven business and Holland has four championships as an executive, while advancing and progressing in the playoffs on several different occasions with two different franchises. If you want to cherry-pick moves Holland made that didn’t pan out I’m not going to stop you. His track record is not perfect by any stretch. But the results are the results and it’s hard to dispute those.

Kings President Luc Robitaille
As we did our due diligence, we identified Ken as the absolute best option and acted decisively to make him our General Manager. His track record of success is undeniable and after our conversations with him, we were clearly convinced he was the right person for us at this time. He has the experience to lead us on the proper path that will help us win now and compete for the Stanley Cup.

President & CEO of AEG Dan Beckerman
I’d like to thank Luc for his continued leadership in steering this process and welcome Ken to the LA Kings. We are excited to be adding such a well-respected and proven General Manager to guide our hockey operations at an important time for our organization.

The Kings are scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow at 11:30 AM, with Holland formally presented as the team’s new general manager. Expecting Holland to share his vision for the team going forward, including his thoughts on current team personnel as well as the future of the coaching staff in Los Angeles and additional thoughts on the organization as he joins from the outside, though with perhaps as strong an insight as a former opposing general manager could have. Will have full takeaways from Holland’s availability tomorrow after he is formally presented.