The real unfortunate part is both Broberg and Holloway failed to establish themselves until very late into their contracts and only for short sample sizes. Some of that was due to injuries and maybe a lack of opportunity in some instances but in reality when they did play they really were not able to grab hold of a spot. They certainly showed potential though. The first flashes of Broberg really asserting himself was in the playoffs, before that his play ranged from average to at times mediocre in the NHL. A person could say the Oilers maybe didn't give him enough opportunity etc. but in reality the Oilers depth positions were not tough competition and they struggled to even make an impact versus average depth players at times.
Broberg appears to be a good potential 2-way d-man that does need some offensive opportunity to really get full value from his play and he was not going to get much of that in Edmonton to justify a 4.6 million dollar contract, at least not this season. St. Louis had the roster spots available and the ability to take a risk with these contracts that most Cup contending teams would not likely match. It was just a really good situation for St. Louis to take advantage of and if it works out well that is good but I think the Oilers will be fine and they can hopefully acquire a good fit at the deadline. Of course it would have been most ideal to keep them at reasonable contracts.