Really, Holland didn't say much at all to reveal the Oilers direction at the deadline, but it's very interesting to hear he's regularly consulting McDavid on the ongoing assessments of the team around the trade deadline. McDavid could be helping to suggest players to acquire in trade, but also as the captain, could advise what players are important to the locker room and need to stay on the team. It's nearly against hockey culture to have a player have this sort of impact on the team, but when it's Connor McDavid, you have to give him a pass.
With whatever move that the Oilers make at the deadline, it'll interesting to see if McDavid could've had any input into the decision. In recent weeks, reports have shifted from the Oilers primarily being interested in a top-six forward to looking into multiple depth pieces in the bottom six and on defence.