Caledon’s Holland sent to Arizona

December 16, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
Peter Holland has a new home in the desert.
The key component in a move to free up roster space, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday that they had traded the Caledon born-and-bred centre to the Arizona Coyotes, in exchange for a conditional future draft pick.
The move from Canada’s hockey hotbed to the dry heat of Glendale is a major change for the man who grew up practising on the family pond at the Hollands’ home just north of Bolton. He attended Humberview Secondary School in Bolton.
“I’m excited to start this new chapter,” said Holland. “I’m looking forward to getting back into a lineup consistently.”
After the 2015-16 season, Holland resigned with the Leafs to a one-year, $1.3-million deal. In the past a tenacious, big body grinder, Holland was quickly overshadowed by a plethora of talented rookie Leaf forwards, namely Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Connor Brown.
Ice time became a lost cause for the 25-year old, who was scratched for 17 of the Leafs’ first 25 games of the season.
With the move, Holland should see ample ice time on a team starving for a body down the middle.
“We’re very pleased, really,” said Holland’s agent Joe Resnick in a press conference. “Peter is not Steven Stamkos or Wayne Gretzky, but he is a good contributor and this is an opportunity to get more ice time.”
It won’t be long, however, before Holland has a chance to return home: the Coyotes visit the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre tonight (Thursday).