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

[bellagiobob]

I would not be surprised in the least. Holloway is slated to be a 4th liner, Broberg is fighting Krug and Leddy for LD ice time. He could easily end up with 3rd pairing minutes. The Blues only have 2 RD so he may end up 3rd pairing RD

Krug is likely out for the season, which likely played a part in the timing of the offer sheet.

 

[timekeep]

Not yet it's not.

Still have to get long term contracts done for 2, 29, and 97 but once that happens(and there is no reason to believe it won't) this team will always have a future. Fans on here are going to have to get used to a revolving door of players around them though.

I hope they wait at least until January for Bouchard. There is no room for unnecessary overpays.

 

[nexttothemoon]

It comes down to... do you think that A) Emberson+Podkolzin+4.88 million in extra cap space is better than B) Broberg+Holloway in the lineup.

Personally I'd go with option A because you have basically zero cap flexibility with the Broberg+Holloway option... can't even trade/waive those 2 players this year if they underperform badly... so it's like a ball and chain around your neck instead of having the flexibility of flushing Emberson and Podzkolzin if they play poorly... and then having 4.88 extra in cap space is massive flexibility at the deadline... especially when a deal can be made with retention (or even double retention) and any cap space multiplies so you can add a significant piece (or pieces) at the deadline with that cap space.

It comes down to being forced to risk it all on two largely unproven players OR remaining flexible and being able to adjust and regroup if players like the similarly unproven Emberson/Podkolzin aren't getting the job done... with a pile more cap room to make more adjustments as a huge bonus.

It's the logical move by the Oilers at this stage. You certainly can argue whether they should have signed Holloway + Broberg to much smaller contracts long before this (if that was even possible)... but as it stands now... not being "forced" to pay almost $6.9 million for these 2 players along with the cap inflexibility that brings to the roster was the right choice to make.

I also don't think Broberg playing on his right side as #2RD would be optimal... Ekholm/Nurse are locked in at #1LD and #2LD so best case is you'd have a solid year from Broberg playing 3rd pairing LD... but really the Oilers already have a serviceable Kulak in that role now... for a much cheaper cap hit as well.

The Oilers need an upgrade at #2RD and obviously Stecher/Emberson aren't going to be high end #2RD solutions... but since they are playing their correct side... my guess is that they at worst will be as good as Broberg would be in that role... and I think they could actually be better in that role. Handedness matters and if Broberg was a righty I think you'd have a higher chance of seeing an offer sheet match if that was the case.

As it is though... I see why the Oilers did what they did in this current situation. This was partly self-inflicted and partly inflicted by the Blues but at this moment the right choices were made to deal with what was in front of them.

 

[guymez]

Yeh. I would add they both have injury concerns too. Holloway plays like Hall, bull in a china shop, and it tends to lead to chaos and injury. Broberg's lack of awareness was apparent as a young prospect and still reared its ugly head in the AHL and NHL playoffs last year. He has a habit of getting absolutely trucked.

It will be interesting.
I normally wouldnt pay any attention to the Blues but I will now.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

All presumes that there will be a toilet paper shortage. Fear makes people do weird things.

Keeping a 7D for 4.6M doesnt save them from having to find an expensive top 4 replacement anyways. Oilers of old would buy all the toilet paper and keep using it to plug the waterline then wonder why it floods anyways. Glad it see some other team do that.

The Oilers were in control of the toilet paper market until they took their eyes off all external warning signs of impending disaster. Complacency and non-action on their controlled toilet paper and poof someone comes in and steals it. That safe, controlled stash is gone and its your own damn fault for the mess in aisle 1.

Once upon a time the Oilers of old pro-actively signed their young, pedigree talent earned in blood with progressive contracts through peak year performance. Largely worked out for them including a guy who's earned a ginormous raise which is coming due.

Their super agent leader who I am quite bullish on and the new GM hired because he managed a Cup winner through the perils of trying to sustain it were caught asleep and lost control over their cost controllable restricted free agents. Big cap bump in for first time since real world plague; GM and league warnings times were ripe for poaching; running up a cap deficit while offering their two best young NHLers hardline $1.2 million dollar deals and sitting back for status quo way it's always been done passive negotiation bit them on the ass.

Like other Oilers of old they now spin to marginal replacements with a defense is worse; cupboards are threadbare for depth support; and the Arizona Coyotes alumni group (the bad Arizona Coyotes teams) are the right side of an NHL defense that's gotten worse.

If only this situation could have been avoided. Oh wait... it could have been.

 

[TheNumber4]

It will be interesting.
I normally would pay any attention to the Blues but I will now.

I’ll be keeping tabs and hoping for their failure

 

[BlackDogg]

I can guarantee you not a single GM in the league thinks Bowman is a 'bad guy' for what transpired in Chicago.

I'm just saying what I expect to hear in here

 

[Fourier]

They built up a 3-0 buffer that was built on momentum from our reeling after we had to go back to Nurse-Ceci, which ended up a disaster in game 1. Sure, we pounced a bit when they were buckling under the pressure of closing us out, but we ran out of gas in the end.

Are we blaming our top players for not winning the cup when we were only in the finals on the backs of once in 3 decade performances that managed to mask how bad some of our lineup was? We ran our top players into the ground to get where we were. Knob spent loads of time that he shouldn't have had to trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding of a Nurse pair. And that bleeding only stopped because of a run of luck. Nurse's pair still allowed loads of chances right to the end. There are a number of reasons beyond our top guys that built up over the playoffs for why we failed in the end.

It's not a question of blaming anyone. It was a very close series that could easily have gone either way. But it is not like Florida's depth badly outplayed the Oiler depth. It really was a pretty even series across the board.

Now specifically with respect to the second pairing, with the pair on the ice together they were outscored 2 to 1 5 vs 5 including the deciding goal. With Nurse alone the Oilers scored 4 and gave up 2. With Ceci alone it was 5 and 5. Ceci was on for a lot of 5 vs 5 goals against. There is not question about that. But it wasn't Florida's depth that did most of that damage against the actual pairing. It was their top guys.

I fully agree that the Oilers need to find a solution for the 2nd pair RHD. It is really the weak link on the team. In a weird way I think they are in a better position to do that today than they would have been had they matched on Broberg.

 

[bellagiobob]

It will be interesting.
I normally would pay any attention to the Blues but I will now.

I enjoy when teams do something to piss me off, helps out with my interest in the league in general and giving me a reason to watch more games. Blues have been as vanilla and meh a team as you will find over the last close to 60 years. Had the one cup and were entertaining for a while when Hull was there, but other than that very forgettable. I will be following them and hoping for an implosion.

 

[JeffSkinner53]

Spector is so annoying. Guy just hates the oilers.

 

[bellagiobob]

It's not a question of blaming anyone. It was a very close series that could easily have gone either way. But it is not like Florida's depth badly outplayed the Oiler depth. It really was a pretty even series across the board.

Now specifically with respect to the second pairing, with the pair on the ice together they were outscored 2 to 1 5 vs 5 including the deciding goal. With Nurse alone the Oilers scored 4 and gave up 2. With Ceci alone it was 5 and 5. Ceci was on for a lot of 5 vs 5 goals against. There is not question about that. But it wasn't Florida's depth that did most of that damage against the actual pairing. It was their top guys.

I fully agree that the Oilers need to find a solution for the 2nd pair RHD. It is really the weak link on the team. In a weird way I think they are in a better position to do that today than they would have been had they matched on Broberg.

Yup, if fans can take a walk back from the ledge a bit, we are in a really good spot to acquire a top 4 dman at some point this year. Patience will be required though.

 

[Sanchez]

Spector is so annoying. Guy just hates the oilers.

What garbage is he saying now?

 

[nabob]

I am happy. I wasn't very positive on the idea Broberg could be a full time Nurse babysitter. IMO we were setting ourselves up for Nurse-Ceci again not too far into the season, and the same headaches all year. Finding the right player to play with Nurse is what turns this team into something that could actually compete for a presidents trophy and have a much smoother ride to the finals. Not a team that needs McDavid to shatter modern day records again to have any hope in playoffs.

Oof yeah a Nurse/Ceci pairing was my worst nightmare

think last years team, with Knob at the helm, had the best record in the league. So I see no reason why this team can’t compete for a presidents trophy. And I don’t believe there is such a thing as a smooth ride to the finals.

 

[nabob]

The Oilers were in control of the toilet paper market until they took their eyes off all external warning signs of impending disaster. Complacency and non-action on their controlled toilet paper and poof someone comes in and steals it. That safe, controlled stash is gone and its your own damn fault for the mess in aisle 1.

Once upon a time the Oilers of old pro-actively signed their young, pedigree talent earned in blood with progressive contracts through peak year performance. Largely worked out for them including a guy who's earned a ginormous raise which is coming due.

Their super agent leader who I am quite bullish on and the new GM hired because he managed a Cup winner through the perils of trying to sustain it were caught asleep and lost control over their cost controllable restricted free agents. Big cap bump in for first time since real world plague; GM and league warnings times were ripe for poaching; running up a cap deficit while offering their two best young NHLers hardline $1.2 million dollar deals and sitting back for status quo way it's always been done passive negotiation bit them on the ass.

Like other Oilers of old they now spin to marginal replacements with a defense is worse; cupboards are threadbare for depth support; and the Arizona Coyotes alumni group (the bad Arizona Coyotes teams) are the right side of an NHL defense that's gotten worse.

If only this situation could have been avoided. Oh wait... it could have been.

RFAs do have rights. If Broberg didn’t want to sign here there’s nothing the Oilers could have done to force him to sign. His agent made it very clear that their plan was the offer sheet route the whole time. Only thing the Oilers could have done is traded his rights, but who knows what the market would have given them.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

RFAs do have rights. If Broberg didn’t want to sign here there’s nothing the Oilers could have done to force him to sign. His agent made it very clear that their plan was the offer sheet route the whole time. Only thing the Oilers could have done is traded his rights, but who knows what the market would have given them.

Of course. That's why you don't wait a month and a half sitting on a lowball offer. There was time to make a reasonable second offer to gage the player's intent. If it's clear they don't want to bridge a gap elevate activities. Discuss with the situation with player agent and determine if a sign and trade is an option. What teams might interest. Take away a second offer sheet threat again with a reasonable second offer to Holloway's camp. Prioritize this vulnerability early and don't try to smoke them out in a year with the first big cap bump and GM, industry and media talking offer sheet possibilities with a newly established flush and growing financial market.

Don't blow the budget on July 1. Josh Brown at $1 million x 3 or variations of that level player can wait.

EDIT: But I'd also have looked to move veteran Kulak to 2RD and discuss a clear development path for the player with a left side age 34 Ekholm, Nurse, and Kulak.

 

[Kirby]

Holloway can clearly see the consequences of his actions.



Idk if I've ever seen Holloway not beaming ear to ear before. He looks pissed; he signed a poison pill contract and he knows it. I wonder if he fires his agent. Lol.

He's straight up the 4th LW on their depth chart behind Saad, Neighbors, and Buchnevich.

He's likely not getting top 6 minutes at center either; again 4th behind Schenn, Thomas, or Kyrou.

Maybe he can find some time at right wing, which is kind of weak, but even still he's battling for a spot against Sundquist & Joseph for a top 9 spot because he's likely slotted clearly behind Kapanen and Faksa.

Holloway says they were "far" a part with the Oilers in negotiations, which definitely makes me feel that Holloway decided to gamble that the Oilers would match.

He also alluded to knowing that both offer sheets were in play, which makes it feel even more likely he decided to gamble thinking they would be more likely to match his when compared to Brobergs offer. I also don't buy the "such a great vision of accumulating 1st round drafted players" bs.

Hope you enjoy the "retool" in St. Louis.

 

[oobga]

It's not a question of blaming anyone. It was a very close series that could easily have gone either way. But it is not like Florida's depth badly outplayed the Oiler depth. It really was a pretty even series across the board.

Now specifically with respect to the second pairing, with the pair on the ice together they were outscored 2 to 1 5 vs 5 including the deciding goal. With Nurse alone the Oilers scored 4 and gave up 2. With Ceci alone it was 5 and 5. Ceci was on for a lot of 5 vs 5 goals against. There is not question about that. But it wasn't Florida's depth that did most of that damage against the actual pairing. It was their top guys.

I fully agree that the Oilers need to find a solution for the 2nd pair RHD. It is really the weak link on the team. In a weird way I think they are in a better position to do that today than they would have been had they matched on Broberg.

Was it their top guys? Kinda.

Rodrigues - 4-3-7
Barkov - 2-3-5
Lundell - 0-5-5
Verhaeghe - 2-2-4
Bennett - 1-3-4
Reinhart - 2-2-4
Tkachuk - 1-2-3
Tarasenko - 2-1-3

The series went 3-0, then 0-3 as we had a miracle run and Florida were dealing with their own demons of closing the series out, so it's not exactly the best sample size to start drawing conclusions. There was loads of luck involved in our little almost comeback. It was fun and some depth guys embraced the nothing to lose underdog energy that comes with the 0-3 disaster start of the series. Underdog energy + Florida being on their heels feeling like they were letting it go was a fun combo. Again though, not that much to read into, it was a very unique circumstance.

By the end, Hyman looked half dead, Drai looked dead, Kane was toast. Nuge was useless 5v5. McDavid was just stuck going solo mode with no wingers and become the obvious sole focus of Florida to shut down. So it is a shame our top guys ran out of gas, but that's what happens when you have 5 players doing everything for 3 series. Florida ended the playoffs with 7 forwards with 14+ points. We had 4 forwards with 9+ points. One team got to let their top guys pace themselves a lot better through the playoffs. Having a solid D group that isn't creating constant chaos for 20+ mins almost every game is a great help with that too.

 

[TKB21]

lol, looked like Holloway was about to cry at one point in that video, what a complete bone head, he could of been making 1.1 million or more playing on a Stanley cup favourite close to his family….bahahahaha

 

[TheNumber4]

Holloway's Stat Line for last year: 38 GP 6G 3A 9PTS. If you told me the Oilers signed a player with that stat line for $2.29M, would you think that was a good deal?

Broberg's Stat Line for last year: 12 GP 0G 2A 2PTS. If you told me the Oilers signed a player with that stat line for $4.58M, would you think that was a good deal?

 

[K1984]

Stauffer sounds like he's mourning on Oilers Now.

His antics over this have been nothing short of embarrassing.

Someone needs to tell him to stop whining for Christ sake.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

They built up a 3-0 buffer that was built on momentum from our reeling after we had to go back to Nurse-Ceci, which ended up a disaster in game 1. Sure, we pounced a bit when they were buckling under the pressure of closing us out, but we ran out of gas in the end.

Are we blaming our top players for not winning the cup when we were only in the finals on the backs of once in 3 decade performances that managed to mask how bad some of our lineup was? We ran our top players into the ground to get where we were. Knob spent loads of time that he shouldn't have had to trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding of a Nurse pair. And that bleeding only stopped because of a run of luck. Nurse's pair still allowed loads of chances right to the end. There are a number of reasons beyond our top guys that built up over the playoffs for why we failed in the end.

Interesting discussion. I'd add though that team depth contributed massively to keeping the puck out with a 94.3% playoff PK that was actually outscoring opposition. 18-19 penalties killed in the final. Now I venture this is not a repeatable event. Certainly harder with 3 contributing d-men gone this summer, Ceci, Desharnais, Broberg and a secondary forward McLeod.

A massive factor in their playoff success in a largely thankless role done by the team's support players.

 

[Spawn]

Holloway's Stat Line for last year: 38 GP 6G 3A 9PTS. If you told me the Oilers signed a player with that stat line for $2.29M, would you think that was a good deal?

Broberg's Stat Line for last year: 12 GP 0G 2A 2PTS. If you told me the Oilers signed a player with that stat line for $4.58M, would you think that was a good deal?

Yeah, that's the whole point of an offer sheet. It has to be an overpay so that the the team doesn't match.

 

[Hairy Apparatus]

I'm going to get rinsed but I wish we kept Broberg. I think he's really special, will fit our team like a glove imo. Hopefully I see this comment in five years and I am dead wrong.

 

[McBooya42]

Paul Fischer’s pre-draft comparable was Jaccob Slavin.

SOURCE: Paul Fischer - 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

I'm ok with that. He's a lefty too, nice.

 

[TheNumber4]

Yeah, that's the whole point of an offer sheet. It has to be an overpay so that the the team doesn't match.

And that's the decision the Oilers faced when matching. Do they want the overpays or not. For players without any sunk and irrelevant costs of development or drafting history we walk away from that all day long.