Ken Holland raises eyebrows with latest comments

The Edmonton Oilers are left picking up the pieces after their Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoffs loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, bringing an end to a historically potent offensive season that saw not only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl easily eclipse the 100 point mark, but also becoming the first NHL team since the mid 1990's to feature three 100 point scorers thanks to a career year from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

For Oilers general manager Ken Holland, who made several additions to the team during both last offseason and at this year's NHL Trade Deadline, it's not a good feeling to be in right now. 

"I've got an empty feeling," he said. "Whenever you feel your team can go on a long playoff run and they don't go to the end you're disappointed. But I also know, as a manager you get to have an empty feeling for 36 hours and you have to get back at it."

"Over the next 6-8 weeks, we'll tweak around with the team, but the key pieces are here. We've got to grow some younger players and we've got to try to go through this process again and keep trying and trying."

However, as far as his future with the Oilers is concerned, Holland declined to commit long term and used an interesting fruit metaphor to make his point.

"I've got a year left on my contract and for me it's unfinished business," he said. "Beyond that, at this stage in my life, I don't invest in green bananas. I'm not sure if I'm going to be around long enough to see them ripen to be yellow."

As he's typically done, Holland once again referenced his time with the Detroit Red Wings.

"I've still got a lot of energy and a ton of passion. The last time I was the GM of a Stanley Cup team was in 2008. That's a player's career span, 15 years ago. I'd love to do that one more time. I think we have a team where it can happen."