How this summer's stunning offer-sheet saga has worked out for Oilers and Blues

By Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jeremy Rutherford It was nothing short of stunning when it was announced in August that Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signed offer sheets with the St.

Louis Blues .

Two of the Edmonton Oilers most promising up-and-coming players, both of whom had played key roles on the teams run to the Stanley Cup Final not even two months earlier, were either gone or returning with inflated cap hits.

Advertisement Oilers winger Zach Hyman , who was working out with a group that included Blues forward Rob Thomas in Aurora, Ont., on that Aug.

13 day, remembers being taken aback.

Fellow Oilers winger Mattias Janmark , who trained with Broberg in the summer in Stockholm, didnt see it coming.

It doesnt happen very often that anybody gets offer sheeted, let alone two on the same team, Hyman said.

That was shock, but it was a great move by St.

Louis to put us in a position where we were vulnerable up against the cap and just coming off the finals.

Those are two young, great players.

You just tip your cap to them for doing that.

A week later, the Oilers opted not to match the contracts a $4,580,917 cap hit for Broberg and a 2,290,457 cap hit for Holloway both on two-year terms.

They received a second- and a third-round pick as compensation.

Now, those players are set to return to Edmonton for the first time as the Oilers host the Blues on Saturday.

Well probably get booed a little bit, Holloway said.

Its a passionate fan base, and thats why it was so fun to play there.

Theyre a knowledgeable fan base, too.

I loved playing there, and that run we went on last year was so special, and Ill remember that for the rest of my life.

And with that was the support of the fans.

Ive got nothing against the fans.

I kind of expect that they will boo us, but I think itll be a lot of fun and Im excited about that game.

The first head-to-head matchup between Broberg and Holloways old team and their new one provides the ideal backdrop to examine how and why the Oilers lost them and how both teams have changed in the months since.

Two players from one team signing simultaneous offer sheets with another is what made the magnitude of this so earth-shattering.

But that Broberg signed one wasnt exactly surprising.

Drafted eighth by the Oilers in 2019, Broberg spent two more seasons in the Swedish Hockey League before coming to North America for the 2021-22 season.

Over the next three campaigns, his games played in the big leagues and minors were almost identical 81 in the NHL and 87 in the AHL.

Advertisement Broberg was often part of a seven-defensemen scheme when Jay Woodcroft was the coach.

Almost exactly a year ago, now with Kris Knoblauch behind the bench, Broberg was the clear No.

7 and was seeking a trade .

The Oilers instead sent him down to AHL Bakersfield, where the intention was for him to develop on the left side.

By the Stanley Cup Final, Broberg was often on the right his weak side.

He got put in at the end of the conference final.

He played well for us, Oilers hockey operations CEO Jeff Jackson said.

But in the grand scheme of things, he only played 22 games for us.

Hes probably wondering, Where do I fit? His agent did his job.

He found a team that was willing to pay what he got paid.

The situation with Holloway, drafted 14th in 2020, wasnt all that dissimilar.

Like Broberg, a plethora of injuries for Holloway hampered his developmental arc.

He broke his kneecap in Knoblauchs first game as coach on Nov.

13, 2023, and was sidelined for two months.

Upon return, Holloway was demoted to Bakersfield and asked to play center.

The experiment in the NHL after he was called up lasted no more than a couple of games.

He was returned to the minors after the Oilers acquired Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick before the trade deadline only to be summoned just before the playoffs.

Despite all the developmental missteps, Holloway and Broberg wound up being crucial players for Edmonton in the postseason.

Holloway had five goals and seven points while appearing in all 25 games and spent most of his time on the second line next to Leon Draisaitl .

Broberg played the final 10 playoff games and got minutes on the second pair next to Darnell Nurse during the final.

Ultimately, he played his best hockey in the most crucial moment, Janmark said of Broberg.

We sure wish he would have been here to keep building on it, but it just didnt end up that way.

Thats the biggest disappointment for the Oilers.

Broberg and Holloway were just starting to actualize after all those years of hoping they would.

Broberg was an excellent candidate to be a top-four defenseman this season in Edmonton.

Holloway was ticked for bottom-six duty to start the season after Jackson signed veteran wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner .

However, its not hard to envision a scenario where he would have been elevated given the injuries to Arvidsson and Hyman, plus Skinner struggling to find a prominent role.

Advertisement If you look at the Edmonton Oilers having a good team and going for it and adding to the team, what that means is you trade away prospects and trade away draft picks, Knoblauch said.

The Oilers havent had many over the years, just because theyve been so good, and theyve been going for it.

Finally, you get two first-round picks that are not only ready to be with your team but also ready to contribute and then you lose them.

Its difficult.

But theres a lot of things to balance.

One of those things was the salary cap.

As Oilers GM Stan Bowman, who wasnt even three weeks into his new job when the offer sheets were announced, told The Athletic last week, There was really no way to make that financially work.

We could have easily signed (Philip) and Dylan for what they probably should get in the market, but we didnt have $6.5 million sitting there, Jackson said.

No team in the league does that.

The Blues had long been coveting a lanky defenseman with Brobergs skating ability.

During their 2019 Stanley Cup run, the teams top shutdown pair was Jay Bouwmeester and Colton Parayko .

Bouwmeester, however, played just part of one more season before a cardiac episode in February 2020 prematurely ended his career.

The following offseason, Alex Pietrangelo left via free agency, signing a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights .

In response, the Blues used part of Pietrangelos money to sign Torey Krug to a seven-year, $45.5 million free-agent deal.

Krug was never meant to replace Pietrangelo, but because hes the player who came in after him, there were high expectations.

And because the club was accustomed to the style of the 6-foot-4, 206-pound Bouwmeester, watching the 5-9, 194-pound Krug was often underwhelming.

In 2022, the Blues attempted to trade for Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm , but he was dealt to the Boston Bruins .

In 2023, they tried to move Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers in a package deal that wouldve brought them defenseman Travis Sanheim , but Krug invoked his no-trade clause.

Advertisement Last summer, with Krug facing season- and potentially career-ending surgery on his arthritic left ankle, the Blues identified Broberg as the player who could replace Krug and become a top-pair partner for Parayko.

The Blues projection on Broberg was that he could have a big impact in the future, and thus his performance this season has been better than they expected.

He began the year on the second pair with Justin Faulk , and in his first six games, he had at least one point offensively and was not on the ice for a five-on-five goal against defensively.

Asked recently what allowed him to get off to a good start , Broberg said, I think most of my game comes from my skating, just working hard on the ice and taking space away.

I think it all starts with my skating and trusting my instincts.

Broberg missed 12 games with a lower-body injury, which he suffered Nov.

2 when the Toronto Maple Leafs Mitch Marner fell on his leg awkwardly.

The Blues went 5-6-1 without him, desperately missing him at both ends of the ice.

When Broberg returned Saturday against the Flyers, new Blues coach Jim Montgomery said, If youve got a horse, you let the horse run, and then gave the defenseman 24:08 of ice time.

You could tell hes someone thats going to drastically improve the team, like he did early in the year, Montgomery said afterward.

In 14 games this season, Broberg is averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game, which is eight minutes more than he received in 12 games with Edmonton last season.

And with two goals and eight assists, he already has eight more points than he did last year.

The Blues have offered Broberg more opportunity, including a promotion to the top pair against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, which may not have happened with the Oilers this season.

I dont really want to speculate on anything that couldve been, he said.

Advertisement When he reflects on his time in Edmonton, though, does Broberg wish it could have gone differently? Its tough to say, he said.

Obviously you want to play your best and play all the time, I guess.

But Im happy with the situation Im in right now here in St.

Louis.

The case is the same with Holloway, who didnt get the same attention as Broberg when the two came to St.

Louis but has been just as impressive.

The Blues had been getting noticeably slower the past couple of seasons and Holloways well-documented speed was a welcomed addition.

He ranks second on the team in goals with eight while his 15 points are only behind Jordan Kyrou (22).

Its a change at first coming to a new team, but I feel really comfortable right now, Holloway said.

Im feeling good about my game right now.

Im getting more ice time, more touches, Im more comfortable, and with that comes more confidence.

Holloway has been versatile, too.

Hes played on each of the top three lines, and hes been at center and on the wing.

Hes averaging about 15 and a half minutes of ice time, which is about four minutes more than with the Oilers last year.

I had nothing but a great time there, Holloway said.

But you know what, good things dont always work out, and it just didnt work out.

I dont like answering the question of, Do I wish this wouldve happened? because Im very happy with where I am now and Im comfortable with this team.

Holloway has been arguably the Blues player that has caught Montgomerys attention the most so far.

Just how much he loves the game of hockey, Montgomery said.

He wants to be a great hockey player.

Montgomery was conducting that interview in a room not far from the teams off-ice shooting area at its practice facility.

I think I hear someone shooting pucks right now and I bet you its him, Montgomery said.

Advertisement Indeed, it was Holloway.

I want to be the best I possibly can, he said.

With that comes a lot of work, so I just try and grind as much as I can.

Broberg and Holloway have had their names on the Blues scoresheet on the same goal three times one scoring and the other assisting and fans have referred to the contributions as coming from the Offer sheet boys.

They could be as big a part of the future as anyone on the roster.

And Montgomery, who was with the Bruins when the deals went down last summer, is the beneficiary.

Any time you can acquire not one, but two young players that were drafted in the first round, I think youve got to try and take advantage, Montgomery said.

It just adds quality depth and building blocks for your lineup.

It looked like the Oilers erred in their decision-making through the first month of the season.

Not only were Broberg and Holloway flourishing in St.

Louis when they were in the lineup, but Edmontons cheaper replacements were off to underwhelming starts.

Defenseman Ty Emberson was acquired from San Jose and came with a $950,000 cap hit.

The plan was to play him alongside Nurse on the second pair.

That didnt even last a game before he was demoted and then scratched a couple of times.

Left winger Vasily Podkolzin , brought in from Vancouver along with a $1 million cap hit, began the season on the fourth line and then struggled to produce offensively when he was elevated to the top six.

In the beginning, they were both trying to find their way a little bit, Jackson said.

Theyve settled in and helped the Oilers move up the standings after a sluggish start.

Emberson has found a home on the third pair and has been impactful on the penalty kill since being moved to the No.

1 pair in that role next to Mattias Ekholm last month.

Podkolzin, meanwhile, has looked more confident by the game and has become an effective complementary winger to Draisaitl.

He scored in three straight games before Tuesdays contest in Las Vegas after not netting a goal before that streak.

Advertisement Podkolzin was someone head amateur scout Rick Pracey liked since his draft year because of the way he extends zone possession time, creates turnovers and scoring chances and works hard every shift.

When Vancouver chose him 10th in 2019, Praceys Flyers traded down from 11 to 14.

The sting of losing Broberg and Holloway remains for the Oilers, but the contributions of Emberson and Podkolzin have helped alleviate the shock.

I dont think you could have done a better job of trying to replace those two, even though its hard to replace them the way they were playing, Janmark said.

(Photo of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway: Scott Rovak / NHLI via Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.