from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com,

Ken Holland had two passions: working for the Detroit Red Wings and being an NHL general manager. He knew the day was coming when he would have to choose between them.

He made the hard choice when he left the Red Wings to become GM of the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Time will tell if it was the right one for him and his new team.

The easy choice would have been to stay in Detroit. Holland loved the Red Wings. He spent most of his adult life working for them, rising from western Canada scout to GM, helping to build the most successful team of its time.

He's loyal. He stepped aside so the Red Wings could replace him with Steve Yzerman on April 19, because he felt it was the right thing to do for the organization. Had he wanted to, he could have stayed in his new role as senior vice president indefinitely, a Red Wing for life.

"It's tough," he said at his introductory press conference in Edmonton on Tuesday. "I'm 63 years old, and I've been a Red Wing for 36 years."

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