What’s next for the Edmonton Oilers?

This summer will be Ken Holland’s chance to put his stamp on the Edmonton Oilers.

Holland’s first two years at the helm have largely been spent cleaning up Peter Chiarelli’s mess. Holland dealt with Milan Lucic’s albatross contract and loaded Edmonton’s roster up with enough quality depth to get the team into the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

The Oilers finished second in the All-Canadian Division in 2021, which was a successful, promising showing. That all evaporated this week when they got swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.

After that embarrassing result, Holland is going to have to take a long, hard look at the team’s roster and determine what went wrong. How could the Oilers, loaded with two Hart Trophy winners in @Connor McDavid and @Leon Draisaitl, get swept in the first round?

In his previous two summers, Holland hasn’t had much financial flexibility. The Oilers have been pressed tight against the salary cap and Holland has prioritized adding cheap depth to the roster. This off-season, Holland has nearly $22 million in cap room to work with, enough for him to make a big splash.

The question is whether that big splash is adding somebody new, such as @Phillip Danault, @Tomas Tatar, or even a similar face in @Taylor Hall, or if it should be simply re-signing @Ryan Nugent Hopkins and @Tyson Barrie.

Whatever the path Holland takes, he has to improve this roster. This spring’s playoffs made it clear that the group built around McDavid and Draisaitl needs major work.