Should The Buffalo Sabres Have Tried To Get Ken Holland As Their GM?

Longtime GM Ken Holland took a job with the NHL's hockey operations department, but Adam Proteau thinks the Buffalo Sabres should keep him in mind.

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.

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.

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 success building a winning team if he chooses to pursue Buffalo’s job if and when it opens up. Edmonton’s defense group and offensive performance improved under his watch by bringing in Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm and Adam Henrique, for starters. And the Red Wings were defensively responsible for years under Holland.

There’s a reason Holland is regarded as a “consultant” with the NHL and not a job title that feels more permanent. Holland knows full well he likely won’t get more kicks at the can as a GM, and just like Waddell did with Columbus, he’d likely jump at the opportunity to steer another group of players toward their ultimate goal.

Holland may be 69 years old, but Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is 13 years older than Holland, so there’s more time on the clock for Holland if the right situation were to pop up. If the Sabres don't improve, maybe that could be the right situation.