Confirmed with Link: Oilers Do Not Match Broberg ($4.58M X2) & Holloway ($2.29M x 2) Offer Sheets | Oilers acquire STL 3rd '28 & Paul Fischer for Futures

[MessierII]

You're putting a whole lot of weight into some unsubstantiated reports. If those were the actual asks, they would have been signed. Especially Holloway.

These guys were clearly set on those offersheets by July 1st. Obviously their agents are going to try to make it sound like they were being lowballed and that was their only option.

Those deals aren’t even lowballs though. Those are totally fair.

 

[MoontoScott]

The concept of free will, sadly, is foreign to some.

For anyone who wants to dive deeper into the cap rules, Reddit has a good discussion and several examples of how the system works.

The bottom line is that LTIR does not "clear" cap space but rather provides an exemption until the player returns. Then you have to add the salary back in and as someone suggested this is a roster disruption since you must become compliant and remove the "temporary" help.

I am glad that the Oilers are going into the season as "cap compliant." Sounds like a wiser policy than relying on an exemption (if you are at or above the cap) when you really don't know how long that Kane will be out.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

12 first rounders all wanting to get paid. I will come to your site and laugh on a few years

Not all will deserve to get paid. Some will get moved. Nature of the beast.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Even according to Holloway availability this isn't the case. Holloway even expressing some dismay that there was little to no contact from Oilers for an extended time and none at all this week or preceding time. Really one senses from what he says Holloway was hanging by the phone expecting something and no word was coming.

It isn't hard to believe that very little contact between team and player was occurring because Holloway even said it.

How do you negotiate with a team not even interested or invested enough to be keeping in contact?

The Oilers conveyed no interest in Holloway being topsix here in future (where he belongs based on his pedigree and recent play) and arguably no interest at all. The Oilers putting in an initial lowball offer just to say they did.

Lol whaaaat

 

[MessierII]

Broberg's easier and faster path to the NHL was removed when the Oilers acquired Ekholm, which we all agree was a great acquisition. One could argue that then onus was on management to move Kulak to create a spot during the 2023-24 season, but Broberg's underwhelming camp, the early season tail spin and eventual recovery probably had management wanting run with a veteran in Kulak down the stretch and through the playoffs.

While Broberg played in Bakersfield all season, his agent used the situation to get him ready to pursue opportunities outside the Oilers, so I imagine Broberg re-signing was unlikely. He received the offer sheet he wanted and now he's a Blues player.

Hindsight they should have traded Broberg two years ago.

 

[GOilers88]

This occurs every offseason here. Departing players are nothing. Incoming are great. Last offseason we were losing players like Bjugstad, Kostin, this year were losing more.

I don't see that there will be a lot of energy on the team at seasons start. Worry about that again. What kind of energy players do we even have left that bring that consistently here? Man we've cratered our bottomsix particularly.

I do remember the rustling of jimmies that was causes by Bjugstad and Kostin last year. We were losing good young depth and it was going to hurt the teams chances of going deep.

Here we are again.

I'm almost positive we'll have this conversation next summer when more of the roster turns over.

 

[McDNicks17]

Even according to Holloway availability this isn't the case. Holloway even expressing some dismay that there was little to no contact from Oilers for an extended time and none at all this week or preceding time. Really one senses from what he says Holloway was hanging by the phone expecting something and no word was coming.

It isn't hard to believe that very little contact between team and player was occurring because Holloway even said it.

How do you negotiate with a team not even interested or invested enough to be keeping in contact?

The Oilers conveyed no interest in Holloway being topsix here in future (where he belongs based on his pedigree and recent play) and arguably no interest at all. The Oilers putting in an initial lowball offer just to say they did.

Makes sense.

If the team makes an offer(which apparently they did) and the response is "lol we're waiting for offersheets", I'm not sure why the team would be checking in on them daily.

 

[TheMustardTiger]

Or could it be as simple as them needing roster spots so a simple hockey trade was done to do just that?

Whether it is true or not Chris Johnston indicated that once we freed up the cap space STL wasn't as sure as they were before that we wouldn't match and made the offer for the extra pick and unsigned prospect to not match.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

It's over, all dozen of you Blues posters can talk among yourselves again on HF Blues. Don't need you chiming in here with "facts" looking for attention.

Believe it or not, I thought I was responding to a post on the Blues board. I peruse other teams boards but don't post on 'em.

Sincere apologies. I didn't come here to gloat. Can you give me a ride home?

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

For anyone who wants to dive deeper into the cap rules, Reddit has a good discussion and several examples of how the system works.

The bottom line is that LTIR does not "clear" cap space but rather provides an exemption until the player returns. Then you have to add the salary back in and as someone suggested this is a roster disruption since you must become compliant and remove the "temporary" help.

I am glad that the Oilers are going into the season as "cap compliant." Sounds like a wiser policy than relying on an exemption (if you are at or above the cap) when you really don't know how long that Kane will be out.

This cant be overstated! the fact that we are starting the season compliant is huge!
now we need to turn our attention to a very important extension so that there are no in season distractions.

 

[Yuke]

Not all will deserve to get paid. Some will get moved. Nature of the beast.

Right, like I said. Holloway will be fighting for a contract in 2 years.

 

[frag2]

Even according to Holloway availability this isn't the case. Holloway even expressing some dismay that there was little to no contact from Oilers for an extended time and none at all this week or preceding time. Really one senses from what he says Holloway was hanging by the phone expecting something and no word was coming.

It isn't hard to believe that very little contact between team and player was occurring because Holloway even said it.

How do you negotiate with a team not even interested or invested enough to be keeping in contact?

The Oilers conveyed no interest in Holloway being topsix here in future (where he belongs based on his pedigree and recent play) and arguably no interest at all. The Oilers putting in an initial lowball offer just to say they did.

Mediaheads all said Oilers offered a lowball ~1.1 ish for 2-3 years back in Jan and he said no. So while it was a lowball offer, to say the Oilers didn't try is tad disingenuous. Oilers had no cap; Holloway didn't want the lowball offer

It is what it is. Like many said in this thread, he likely assumed Oilers would match a lowish 2m deal and it backfired.

 

[JeffSkinner53]

What garbage is he saying now?

That the oilers are just trying to get rentals to win now and don't care about their future. But then if they didn't make the playoffs he'd call them chokers.

 

[Oilhawks]

Hindsight they should have traded Broberg two years ago.

I don’t necessarily disagree, but wonder if the return on him would have been higher than the 2nd they got for the OS

 

[Frank the Tank]

That the oilers are just trying to get rentals to win now and don't care about their future. But then if they didn't make the playoffs he'd call them chokers.

Why aren't the Oilers ruthless like Vegas when in pursuit of the Cup...

No, not like that...

 

[Oilhawks]

That the oilers are just trying to get rentals to win now and don't care about their future. But then if they didn't make the playoffs he'd call them chokers.

Knowing that clown, he’s just embarrassed that he wrote that flowery article praising them for clearing cap to match the offers and felt foolish after they didn’t.

Smartest man in the room full on narcissist

 

[TheNumber4]

Lol whaaaat

Well we did kind of sign 2 wingers for Drai…. And Holloway was pretty much Drais most recent winger in the playoffs. It can look like Holloway was replaced up top.

 

[Spawn]

That the oilers are just trying to get rentals to win now and don't care about their future. But then if they didn't make the playoffs he'd call them chokers.

I mean both things are kind of true aren’t they? The Oilers prioritized guys like Skinner and Arvidsson and bringing back Henrique over McLeod, Holloway and Broberg.

And considering they’re one of the odds on favourites to win the cup it would be one of the biggest choke jobs of the decade if they missed the playoffs.

 

[Messrules11]

Let's be honest: we are banking on Kane turning into Stone!

This is just stupid. A guy who hits, fights and scores 20 goals and you want him to sit. Wake the f*** up

 

[North]

Mediaheads all said Oilers offered a lowball ~1.1 ish for 2-3 years back in Jan and he said no. So while it was a lowball offer, to say the Oilers didn't try is tad disingenuous. Oilers had no cap; Holloway didn't want the lowball offer

It is what it is. Like many said in this thread, he likely assumed Oilers would match a lowish 2m deal and it backfired.

But given what he had shown to that point, was it really a lowball?

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Hindsight they should have traded Broberg two years ago.

I wonder if they trade him in December of last year when he made his trade request, what they could have gotten

I doubt a 1st rounder...maybe a 2nd rounder and a prospect (kinda what they got)

 

[bellagiobob]

The reporting is that the Broberg offer was $1.2 million. Haven't heard the Holloway offer if same or less. All reporting suggests the Oilers didn't move off their original offers tendered through the month and a half time duration.

How it has played out during cap stalled years and previously were quite possibly an old paradigm. New money big cap bump with more to come now that the league's revenue stream is stable and growing creates new opportunities within the CBA. The team tendering the offer allegedly had trade discussions at deadline with the young players involved. He made noise in June about prospectively using offer sheets. In mid-July he LTIR's Krug who he tried to trade opening up cap and positional opportunity for a left shot defenseman.

The McLeod trade is exactly what I imagine talking about proactively managing your cap crunch while building up a very weak prospect pool. It's the exact model I would have used early with clarity established Broberg rift could not be mended. Control the situation and seek out a solid NHL ready prospect in return or term. Player wins with a new home. Prospective team wins with an emergent peak years young D off an impressive late playoff performance and salary drag from the inflationary effect of the Offer Sheet process.

Broberg's role is to deliver strong support minutes with increasing responsibilities with special teams play at PK and secondary PP. There's possibility of a managed succession plan with age 36 Ekholm in two years or so to switch ice-time and roles. I'd also have veteran Kulak at mention moved to 2RD and potential deadline move to upgrade the position.

I like all the moves you mention. Aggressively adding O'Reilly to a flaccid prospect pool and a 3C option post Henrique. Jarventie is a bit of a wild card but clear they were done with X-Man who will play closer to his home (sense this was a consideration). Offer Sheet reaction I love the qualified buy low on Polzkolzen. Think he's resetting as a likely middle roster winning with his draft upside recalibrated. As I've said, far easier to pivot away from middle roster wingers. They are the easiest and cheapest position to replace (high supply and cost considerations - trade assets and salary).

So I'm calling early on Broberg and Holloway to ideally retain cheap young roster talent. If not fixable, I'm working to call teams (beginning with the guy who wanted them at trade deadline) and saying let's work out a deal. Call GM's to take temperature of interest and return. Aim for one of their deep pedigree forward prospects and help everyone get what they want.


The reporting I've seen is from the player's representatives. Why I always try to use language like 'alleged.' Fourier suggested a hypothetical signing scenario at those alleged amounts which I replied to.

JJ seems like a bright guy. Would think that if he was quite certain that we were at the point of no return for Broberg that he would have traded him. So assuming he didn’t get the trade us or else message from his agent. For the most part teams have relied on other GM’s following the unwritten rule on offer sheets, and have used their leverage on non arbitration eligible RFA’s to their advantage, and every year we see a while whack of young RFA’s on every team as the last guys to be signed, often just before camp. It’s only in hindsight that it would have been proactive in trading the players, don’t think you want to set a precedent of trading your young players just because you haven’t signed them with a month to go before camp even opens. In general that’s a panic move that shows weakness. Unless you get notification from the agent that they are for sure done here and request a change of scenery, you carry on in negotiations like every team does with their RFA’s of this stature.

 

[FlameChampion]

But given what he had shown to that point, was it really a lowball?

Lukas Reichel is very similar to Holloway and he just signed a 2 yr - $1.2m aav.

Meanwhile Holloway in his interview said that him and the Oilers were very far apart which is weird. Unless he was talking about 2.3m but that doesn’t really add up based on the rumours about what his camp was asking for.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Mediaheads all said Oilers offered a lowball ~1.1 ish for 2-3 years back in Jan and he said no. So while it was a lowball offer, to say the Oilers didn't try is tad disingenuous. Oilers had no cap; Holloway didn't want the lowball offer

It is what it is. Like many said in this thread, he likely assumed Oilers would match a lowish 2m deal and it backfired.

Oilers made the lowball offer and then according to holloway nothing was heard after. Thing is a prospect like Holloway is an asset. he is that anywhere. Its up to the Oilers to retain their assets, its what good orgs do is accrue and retain assets. It doesn't fall on the asset to sign himself. Somebody was going to be happy to have Holloway and Broberg. Other clubs were interested as well and according to Broberg he got to pick among 3 offersheets.

The Oilers seemingly did the bare minimum with respect to these two.

Asset management is on any org. That falls on the Oilers to have regular communication, but an org that has failed in that in offseason several times.

 

[McShogun99]

I can understand if Holloway went for money and opportunity in Chicago or San Jose. St. Louis wasn't the best landing spot for him. He got sold on money and thought we were matching.

He's pretty much in the same position on the depth chart as he would be to start the season in Edmonton. 3rd line LW/2nd unit PP. It's up to how he plays if he can move up but there's a huge difference between having McDrai or Thomas/Schenn as your centers.

12 first rounders all wanting to get paid. I will come to your site and laugh on a few years

Those RFA contracts will expire just in time for when we start moving on from older players like Kane, Hyman, Ekholm etc and need to retool the team with future upcoming talent.