It was the first time in 40 years that Ken Holland wasn’t part of a front office, the first time since 1996-97 that he wasn’t in charge of a club.

He missed the day-to-day responsibilities of building a team and the pressure that goes along with it. That’s why at age 69 he’s back as general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.

“I’m excited to be back in the saddle,” Holland said Thursday at his introductory news conference in Los Angeles. “I got a lot of energy. I had an opportunity this past winter to get my batteries (recharged).

“I just thought this was a great fit for me personally and professionally. I missed being under fire.”

Holland spent this past season as a consultant with the NHL’s department of hockey operations, which consisted of watching games. Prior to that, he spent five seasons as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers and 22 years as GM of the Detroit Red Wings (from 1997-2019).

“I was a manager in Detroit for 22 years. That was pressure,” Holland said. “And then I went to Edmonton for five years and that was pressure. And I’m jumping back into the pressure-cooker here.”

The Kings, following a 105-point season, mutually parted ways with GM Rob Blake after their first-round playoff loss to the Oilers.

Holland said he spoke with a few other teams – the New York Islanders were among the teams pursuing him – and likes the situation he’s entering in L.A.

“In 2016, I charted a course in Detroit for a rebuild and it’s tough, these long-term rebuilds,” Holland said. “And when I look at the job that (Blake) did in retooling, rebuilding and the team had 105 points this year, tremendous regular season, in my mind was a legitimate Stanley Cup contender before the playoffs started.”

Holland was asked about critics who claim he’s lost touch since last winning the Stanley Cup in 2008 with the Red Wings.

“Well, on top of that we went to Game 7 (of the Final) and lost 2-1 in 2009 to Pittsburgh,” he said. “On top of that, we went to Game 7 (of the Final), lost 2-1 last year to Florida. In the last three years in Edmonton, we went to the final four and lost to Colorado, who won the Cup. Then two years ago, we lost in the second round to Vegas, and they won the Cup.

“So certainly, you want to win the Cup. That’s the ultimate goal. But you got to be there time after time after time after time. And then one day you hope to push through

“I think each year that goes by, I’m a better manager than I was the year before because I think when you coach and when you manage anything to play, experience is a good thing.”

Kings president Luc Robitaille, who played for Holland in Detroit for two seasons, starting in 2001-02 when he won his lone Stanley Cup, agreed about experience.

“The one thing that he has is he knows the path of what it takes to get to the championship,” Robitaille said. “And that’s a hard thing to do, and it’s a hard thing to learn. His experience, what he’s done over his career is very important.”

Said Holland: “I’m going to use that same mentality that we did in Detroit, that we did in Edmonton. I got to start to peck away a day at a time, a meeting at a time, a move at a time to try to build this team up. We want to win some playoff series, but I don’t want to screw it up. This is a good hockey team that I thought three weeks ago when I looked around the league, this was one of the teams that I thought could go to the final four and beyond, and they didn’t.”