Analyst: Oilers Must Match Blues’ Offer Sheets

One analyst believes the Edmonton Oilers should match the St. Louis Blue offer sheets to not waste years of development.

Jun 21, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers left wing Dylan Holloway (55) controls the puck during the warmup period against the Florida Panthers in game six of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports / Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers were hit with a unique surprise when the St. Louis Blues tendered offer sheets to a pair of the Oilers’ top prospects. The Blues took aim at forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg who the Oilers still held to as restricted free agents.

After the announcement of the offers, the Oilers were put on the clock to make a decision. They have a week to either match the offer sheets and retain one or both of their budding NHers or sit back and let the Blues add two pieces to their roster.

If the Oilers decide to match the offers, they will need to do some extra work and clear the necessary salary cap space to fit the new contracts. Moving certain players to long-term injured reserve and finding trades for others are possible options.

If you ask TSN’s Craig Button, the Oilers must find a way to retain Holloway and Broberg. In a segment of Hot or Not on TSN, Button said matching the offers is “flaming hot.”

“You have two players that were drafted in the first round,” Button said. “You’ve spent four and five years watching these players develop. They’re young, they showed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs they can be really important to your team. To let them go for a second-round draft pick and the third-round draft pick makes zero sense.”

The Oilers drafted Broberg eighth overall in 2019 and Holloway 14th overall in 2020. Neither has seen boatloads of time at the NHL level, but the 2024-25 season should be their year to make noise in the Oilers’ lineup.

Their progression already showed during the Oilers’ run in the playoffs. Sure, they lost in Game 7 of the Final, but Holloway and Broberg were more than just bystanders in the postseason.

Holloway scored five goals while playing in all 25 games of the Oilers’ playoff run. Broberg entered the lineup during the Western Conference Final and was never taken out.

Button noted that the Oilers would have to make other tough moves to make matching the offer sheets work, but he believes Holloway and Broberg are worth the work.

“The bigger problem for them would be that they don’t have these two players after spending so much time watching them develop,” Button said. “And knowing they can become important players.”

The Oilers are being patient with their decision on Holloway and Broberg, but they’ll need to find some urgency if other moves need to be made and if they hold them in such high regard.

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