Neck guard sales jump after Sask. hockey player slashed by skate
13h ago
More adult players are now investing in the protective equipment.
Edmonton Oilers fans take heart: Ken Holland won a Stanley Cup in his first season as the Detroit Red Wings’ general manager.
So it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the Oilers, his new team, can quickly win their first NHL championship since 1990. Edmonton has Connor McDavid, one of the league’s best players. Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins aren’t bad, either. Edmonton needs a couple of defencemen and a goalie, plus it needs to dump Milan Lucic and his huge contract to clear cap space for some secondary scoring.
As a hockey player, Holland appeared in just four NHL games. Most of his career was spent in the minor leagues, before becoming an amateur scout and, later, Detroit’s assistant general manager, a position he held when the Red Wings won their 1997 Cup.
Holland was promoted the next year, so he already had a championship team in place as a rookie GM. Detroit also had legendary coach Scotty Bowman behind its bench. So Holland’s first task as Edmonton’s GM is to find his Scotty Bowman.