This is a feel-good deal on all sides — and it’s notable that this contract got done on New Year’s Eve with the team currently in Minnesota, Holl’s home state.
Originally a 2010 second-round draft selection of the Chicago Blackhawks, the soon-to-be 28-year-old went unsigned initially and has taken the journeyman’s route to the NHL, starting with a full season in the ECHL with the Indy Fuel followed by extended time with the Marlies (initially on an AHL deal signed by Kyle Dubas in 2015-16) and then an entire 2018-19 season with the Leafs where he was parked in the press box as a healthy scratch under head coach Mike Babcock for all but a handful of appearances (11 GP).