Definitely it’s a results driven business for GM’s and I think in this situation that plays a factor and even though Armstrong is long tenured selling any sort of long term rebuild vision is probably a tough sell given the St. Louis market, the fact they are on the lower end of the revenue scale for franchises and they’ve got a large ownership group. So he has to get creative and take shots like this to try and keep them getting into the playoffs as much as possible but I see at a team that lacks the kind of high end talent needed to build a contender with an extended window, they had an unlikely run to a cup that’s been bookended by missing the playoffs or being first/second round fodder. I think that moves like this just continue to keep them in the mushy middle where they aren’t getting high enough in the draft in consecutive years to get those elite building blocks but always fighting for a playoff spot and getting half a dozen to a dozen playoff games a year.
to your retort, I don’t think Darren Ferris is a particularly good agent, I think he’s known for shady tactics and people don’t like dealing with him and I think that’s reflected in his dwindling client base which is frankly quite weak for a guy who’s been in the game just as long as Brisson/Oster/Milsten/Barry and others who have far better client lists. Ferris has one marquee name in Marner and it wouldn’t shock me if Marner is repped by someone else come this summer, after Marner he’s got a pretty dog shit client list. Fleecing a desperate Flames on the Kadri deal is his next best contract. As for Holloways newby agent, I’d say that guy is getting really lucky that Holloway is covering the bet so far. We’ve seen so often lately teams walking away from young guys who didn’t cover on their second contract and teams aren’t qualifying them because they don’t want to risk an arb award. Alot of these guys end up having to take a cheaper short term deals somewhere to try and rebuild value. It’s still early for Holloway and Broberg for that matter, if they cool off, have an underwhelming season next year, get a season derailed by injury whatever the case may be they could very well find themselves in a tough situation instead of looking at signing a bigger money long term deal.
Come on man. You think Holloway or Broberg are regretting signing those OSs? They are both the envy of similar RFAs is my guess. Broberg is making more money than Bouchard, Byram and K Miller this year with a much shorter resume.
I'm sure many of these guys talk and are friends and I'd wager good money there is a lot of talk between these age 19-23 year old pending and future RFA players that they'll ask their agents to explore offer sheets more vigorously. I suspect even you think this will be the case next summer.
Broberg has seen an increased role in St Louis, is becoming a key player for them (core perhaps) and is setting himself up for a big next contract in 1.5 years.
Freaking Holloway is pacing for 30 goals and 50 points. If he gets anywhere near 30 goals this year... Dude is going to get paid in 1.5 years too.
These two young bucks and their agent are showing the young players the road map many hadn't considered and their good ole boy agents wouldn't let them entertain. I'm sure we'd both agree the majority of NHL GMs
HATED seeing what Armstrong did this summer.
And the good ole boy network agents like Oster and Brisson will be having to stretch past their comfort level to enrage some GMs by pushing for bigger RFA paydays with the viable threat of doing exactly what Armstrong did.
Go to the last penny on a 2 or 3 year contract that connotes the lowest possible pick for the highest possible salary amount.
Dylan Holloway may score 30 goals this year. He's a young 23 and he's going to cost St Louis the ~77th pick in the 2025 NHL draft. I mean... that's robbery. St Louis robbed the Oilers.
Broberg's deal looks pretty much just as good for St Louis.
I don't think I'm wrong when I suggest those two and their agent changed the NHL this past summer and it's going to put a ton of pressure on GMs of contending teams that are trying to keep RLAs on the cheap as long as possible.
And I'm not suggesting any of this is good or bad for the NHL. I'm not trying to make any argument on that front. I'm suggesting this cat is already out of the bag and it's going to be the new order of businesses. Which will have some pros and some cons. It's going to hurt contenders. It has already hurt the Oilers and their odds to win a cup.
