Ex-Leaf speaks publicly for the first time about coming out of retirement and trying to make it back into the NHL
A former member of the Toronto Maple Leafs made waves on Thursday after it was reported by TSN's Darren Dreger that Peter Holland was coming out of retirement in an attempt to earn himself a new NHL contract this summer/fall.
Dreger had reported on Thursday that Holland had begun working with another former Leaf, Gary Roberts, who trains athletes and helps them get into game shape. Naturally, if you've been a Leafs fan for any length of time, you'll know how much Roberts meant to the Leafs and what type of player he was during his time. He applies that same energy and work ethic into helping others be at their best now.
On Friday morning, Holland joined Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo on TSN 1050's First Up to discuss his decision to attempt a comeback. Holland, a former 1st round pick, had retired in 2022 after not having been able to land an NHL opportunity in any of the previous 5 seasons. He had plenty to say about his comeback attempt.
"It's been something that I've been thinking about for a long time.. I feel like every hockey player has that moment where they're like 'ahh, should I go back and play? Can I still do it?' and it's been something that's been dragging on my mind for quite some time. Even in December, when I had really seriously considered it then... at that time, I just wasn't there yet and I still thought I was done and I think maybe part of that had to do with the fact that it's intimidating knowing that guys were already halfway through a season. It just kept weighing on me and I didn't want to wake up when I was 45 and go 'hmm, I wish I tried and just seen what it was all about', because one of the things I realized from not playing for a year and a half is I can be old for a long time. There's a long time that I'm going to have out of hockey and there's only a short time that I have to be young and I think I owe it to myself to at least try."
Holland also went on to mention that there are really no guarantees here and that there's a very good chance that all of this work may not result in a contract, but that even then, that would be okay with him. Having a desire to do something and not trying, to him, would leave him with more regret than the disappointment of trying and failing. As he had alluded to prior, you only get so many chances to play the game at a high level and I think everyone is rooting for Holland here. It would make for one hell of a story.
Holland last played in the NHL in 2018, before playing stints in the AHL, KHL and SHL.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 23 | 583 ANSWERS Ex-Leaf speaks publicly for the first time about coming out of retirement and trying to make it back into the NHL Do you believe that Peter Holland will he successful in his NHL comeback attempt? | ||
| Yes | 131 | 22.5 % |
| No | 327 | 56.1 % |
| It's a great story either way | 125 | 21.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
