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

[oobga]

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.

I do doubt that happens again, even still having the main PK guys, aside from Ceci and McLeod. That was an amazing run, kinda like some coach bump winning streaks, or 2 guys putting up points not seen for 3 decades for their position.

Stories and crazy things will change every year. A lot of things will be different next season, different guys will break out, others will struggle. Just gotta try to make sure we have the best team possible with as few obvious weaknesses as we can manage to help our odds as much as possible. I'm pretty sure most would agree that setting up ourselves for Nurse-Ceci again would not be a great idea for that. Especially since we know Broberg didn't even want to be here, we were setting up for that very nicely. Still gotta hope Bowman has another move though.

 

[McBooya42]

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.

Wonderful post. The more I read and watch about how others view Emberson, and listen to those who have watched him, the more intrigued I am. I think we got a diamond in the rough, and his skill set just may work with Nurse. Even Blues fans for the most part admit how good he was for them.

 

[CycloneSweep]

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?

Emberson is a shutdown D that we got in the Ceci trade and got more points in less games than Holloway.
Actually Emberson and Podkolzin out produced Broberg and Holloway by 1 point.

Wonderful post. The more I read and watch about how others view Emberson, and listen to those who have watched him, the more intrigued I am. I think we got a diamond in the rough, and his skill set just may work with Nurse. Even Blues fans for the most part admit how good he was for them.

Nurse plays well with Puck movers and Emberson is not that. I think he will play well with Kulak, Stetcher might be a better fit for Nurse. We don’t have a traditional 1/2/3 pairing imho and I think the Nurse and Kulak pairings will play relatively even minutes again.

 

[Yuke]

So we turned Hollands 5 first round picks into Ekholm, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, Podkolzin, Fischer, Jarventie and O’Reilly. So pretty much Ekholm and a bunch of long shots. I never did like Holland/Wrights drafting so hopefully these prospects turn out better then the ones they picked.

Not pointing this directly at you.
Funny how fans wanted the Oil to go all in, which means trading futures and then wonders what happen to the youth when the cupboards are empty

 

[CycloneSweep]

So we turned Hollands 5 first round picks into Ekholm, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, Podkolzin, Fischer, Jarventie and O’Reilly. So pretty much Ekholm and a bunch of long shots. I never did like Holland/Wrights drafting so hopefully these prospects turn out better than the ones they picked.

Schaefer and Bourgault are not going to be every day players. Schaefer maybe a 4th liner. Holloway and Broberg aren’t busts yet but definitely not the best of picks.
Let’s hope we can turn that batch into a cup

 

[Ibanez]

Maybe it’s apathy towards the org. Maybe it’s exhaustion from the long playoff run.

But I’m honestly “meh” on all of this.

Like it sucks and we didn’t manage our assets in a way I would like. But matching the offers would have made the next two years quite difficult. I liked broberg but he’s still unproven other than the stint in the playoffs. he could be a top 4 d man. Or he could also be a forever tweener.

I’ll reserve judgment till after the trade deadline. See what we bring in.

The team is stacked up front and should score plenty. Stu is still a great reg season goalie

We have a hole in the top 4. But find me a team right now with no weakness somewhere.

I guess we wait.

In the meantime for the love of sweet jeebus a lot of y’all need to be kinder to each other.

 

[McBooya42]

Emberson is a shutdown D that we got in the Ceci trade and got more points in less games than Holloway.
Actually Emberson and Podkolzin out produced Broberg and Holloway by 1 point.


Nurse plays well with Puck movers and Emberson is not that. I think he will play well with Kulak, Stetcher might be a better fit for Nurse. We don’t have a traditional 1/2/3 pairing imho and I think the Nurse and Kulak pairings will play relatively even minutes again.

Bruce Curlock seems to think he does have good passing ability. I like Bruce as an analyst.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825371837263499500

 

[brentashton]

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

You just wrecked the narrative of every SJW here…



Thank you.

 

[McBooya42]

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

During the pause after the first question, after talking about the time playing with the boys. Yep that chin...

 

[CycloneSweep]

Bruce Curlock seems to think he does have good passing ability. I like Bruce as an analyst.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825371837263499500

Interesting. From what I’ve seen he isn’t a bad passer but wouldn’t call him a puck moving D either.

 

[brentashton]

What garbage is he saying now?

Probably something he thinks is harmful for the environment. He’s all for the 3Rs. Reuse, recycle, regurgitate.

 

[McBooya42]

Interesting. From what I’ve seen he isn’t a bad passer but wouldn’t call him a puck moving D either.

No, I wouldn't either. Bruce may be talking about that first pass, as he is a defensive defenseman. Maybe he's got a good breakout pass, and that's what he means by the Oiler's skilled Fs will like him?

He thinks Emberson is slotted in that 2nd pairing at the moment.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825377239166582969

 

[CycloneSweep]

No, I wouldn't either. Bruce may be talking about that first pass, as he is a defensive defenseman. Maybe he's got a good breakout pass, and that's what he means by the Oiler's skilled Fs will like him?

He thinks Emberson is slotted in that 2nd pairing at the moment.

I believe so. Quick to exit the zone to get them moving forward. Our forwards get hemmed in as they aren’t the best 5v5 at getting the puck out so a guy who can would be well liked.

 

[Spawn]

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.

If we had cap space I doubt the team does. Unfortunately we didn’t have any. We needed to clear salary without them.

 

[The Panther]

Meh, I'm not really happy with all these moves.

The biggest short-term loss is Ceci, who was way better than most on here give him credit for. As a solid, defensive right-shooting Dman, he's just what the club needs more of. The mystery is why they sent him packing if also letting Broberg (and Holloway) go...? I have to think they're planning some other fairly major acquisition on defence, but that they want to clear-up cap space first.

In the long-term, obviously sucks to lose the two younger guys. Odds are good that at least one of them (please not both) ends up being a high-impact NHL player (that is, top-4 D or top-six forward).

I'm optimistic about Emberson, but is he really ready for big/hard minutes in the playoffs? I doubt it, and beyond him the bottom four is currently Nurse, Kulak, Stecher... That's frightening.

Surely, there's some other D-acquisition that Jackson/Bowman are working on.

 

[Oilhawks]

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?

But potential! They could potentially be worth those contracts!

 

[TheNumber4]

No, I wouldn't either. Bruce may be talking about that first pass, as he is a defensive defenseman. Maybe he's got a good breakout pass, and that's what he means by the Oiler's skilled Fs will like him?

He thinks Emberson is slotted in that 2nd pairing at the moment.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825377239166582969

Good stick and good gap will be an upgrade on Ceci. Ceci also didn't bust many cycles, and I think Knob defence de-emphasizes chasing around to do that for positioning anyways.

 

[Old Boys Club]

I think this all ends up being a massive 'meh' 5 years down the line. Broberg won't be worth his QO in two years, his biggest asset is skating and I don't think he's a cerebral player. Holloway will have a very similar trajectory to Warren Foegele - decent bottom 6'er, but a very replaceable player.

 

[TheNumber4]

If we had cap space I doubt the team does. Unfortunately we didn’t have any. We needed to clear salary without them.

I'm not so sure they would. We've been down this road before. Seen small sample hype jobs on Pool and Yamo, paid them, and they immediately became overvalued, overpaid negative values. The risk is high when players are overpaid and that risk needs to be assessed.

But potential! They could potentially be worth those contracts!

6M for potential. That's an OOF. 3M though, definitely doable.

 

[The Panther]

I do worry about the health / vitality of Mattias Ekholm. He was already the team's best even-strength D by a lot (though not quite as good offensively as Bouch) and the team was disproportionately depending on him to carry a huge load... but that's when they had Desharnais, Ceci, and Broberg for support.

If the Oilers don't acquire another Dman before opening night, let's imagine Ekholm suddenly acts his age (34), or -- God help us all -- breaks his ankle or something in pre-season. Where does that leave us? Probably with a six-man rotation as weak defensively as San Jose's...

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I do doubt that happens again, even still having the main PK guys, aside from Ceci and McLeod. That was an amazing run, kinda like some coach bump winning streaks, or 2 guys putting up points not seen for 3 decades for their position.

Stories and crazy things will change every year. A lot of things will be different next season, different guys will break out, others will struggle. Just gotta try to make sure we have the best team possible with as few obvious weaknesses as we can manage to help our odds as much as possible. I'm pretty sure most would agree that setting up ourselves for Nurse-Ceci again would not be a great idea for that. Especially since we know Broberg didn't even want to be here, we were setting up for that very nicely. Still gotta hope Bowman has another move though.

I'm pretty confident it won't happen again. As much as I love Ekholm, Janmark, Brown, Nugent Hopkins less so Nurse they are all age 30 and older. What I really fear is a defense injury to a player like Ekholm with reduced depth.

The penalty kill was a major contributor to the type of unreliable, random activities on ice that propel teams through the meat grinder marathon of NHL playoffs. Things like a high goals against average from often interchangeable goaltenders. In the Oilers case to point, they got to the final with a super elite performance for the ages but also a near perfect PK that not only kept goals out in critical situations with games on the balance but outscored opposition power plays.

High speed game, high chaos, and hopefully key functions all align to push one's team forward to win.

Looking forward it's clear this team's defense, which wasn't a strength, is diminished. Expecting top elite talent to outscore and drive success doesn't work if the other end of the ice and special team functions can't deliver theirs.

 

[94 Oil Drops]

His antics over this have been nothing short of embarrassing.

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

It's almost like The Bob Father himself could be a poster among us on this board.

You never know.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

But potential! They could potentially be worth those contracts!

It's a one year risk with walkaway ability with 1/3 salary buyout. Good bet when you manage your cap and have a deadbeat non-tradable 30 something d-man that veto trades and comes up lame for LTIR.

 

[ManofSteel55]

They're not middle pair defensemen on a cup winning team.

They're better than we had as a game 7 team last year.

 

[Tarus]

I do worry about the health / vitality of Mattias Ekholm. He was already the team's best even-strength D by a lot (though not quite as good offensively as Bouch) and the team was disproportionately depending on him to carry a huge load... but that's when they had Desharnais, Ceci, and Broberg for support.

If the Oilers don't acquire another Dman before opening night, let's imagine Ekholm suddenly acts his age (34), or -- God help us all -- breaks his ankle or something in pre-season. Where does that leave us? Probably with a six-man rotation as weak defensively as San Jose's...

We already got an injured Ekholm last season, when he started the season with a hip flexor and spent the first two months of the season getting walked by 4th liners