Confirmed Signing with Link: [STL] F Dylan Holloway (2 years, $2.290457M AAV) and D Philip Broberg (2 years, $4.580917M AAV) sign offer sheets with the Blues (not matched)

[PajamaBoy]

But no one in the league is "buddy buddy" with Stan lol.

This has nothing to do with stan. Everything to do with them being cash strapped. NHL finally coming into the modern era of sports if this finally starts happening. Unspoken rules of offer sheets was always comical.

 

[Majorityof1]

St. Louis is deep and they don't have the same clear need/role for him as they do with Broberg. Nor have they invested the draft capital or development years into him as Edmonton. If he doesn't hit the ground running and/or gets injured, he could find himself buried and on the outside looking in. Not dissimilar to Kostin in Detroit.

St. Louis did a good job acquiring forward depth this off season but I'm not sure many are in our long term plans. We have a need at C too.

Edmonton top 6 C are set for the next decade with arguably the two best players on the planet. Blues only have Thomas set as a C in our long term plans with prospect Dvorsky as a hope. Schenn's role will diminish and be a wing.

There is an opportunity for Holloway if Edmonton passes and if he can seize it.

 

[ManofSteel55]

If Ekholm gets injured, that will cause a huge problem imo. Canucks have much better depth on D

Canucks D:
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Forbort-Deharnais
Juulsen-Friedman

Oilers lost 2 NHL dman if Broberg goes. Which means they need to replace that depth due to injuries that might occur in regular season.

Losing Desharnais doesn't hurt much. It will hurt the PK, but it's a loss that a team can absorb. He's a nice depth guy to have though, absolutely. I think the Oilers and Canucks are now both in the situation where they will need to add a 3rd pair guy, because our #6 defensemen shouldn't be playing every night - Desharnais for you, Stecher for us. They replaced Desharnais with Stecher and J. Brown, which I think isn't much of a drop. I think depth-wise, we are pretty similar. To me, it really comes down to the 2nd pair, and I like how Soucy-Myers play a lot more than the Nurse-Ceci pairing, which has failed us time and again, so I will agree that Vancouver's defense looks a bit better than Edmonton's right now.

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Ceci/Broberg
Kulak - Stecher
Gleason - J. Brown

 

[jackjohnson]

This is like a checkmate move for the Blues. If Oilers let go of both, they lose 2 good young players that were low cap hits and lose depth trying to gain very little cap space. If they sign Holloway, and let Broberg go, Holloway cap hit will eat into whatever cap space that was gained from not signing Broberg. If they let Holloway go and sign Broberg, then they would be over the cap limit and need to trade guys while lacking a top 4D. The best option is to let both go and sign a top 4D in season even if it means they lost 2 young guys for only a 2nd and 3rd round pick. This hurts the Oilers big time, especially since they need cheap and young players on their roster. It hurts their depth

 

[jackjohnson]

Losing Desharnais doesn't hurt much. It will hurt the PK, but it's a loss that a team can absorb. He's a nice depth guy to have though, absolutely. I think the Oilers and Canucks are now both in the situation where they will need to add a 3rd pair guy, because our #6 defensemen shouldn't be playing every night - Desharnais for you, Stecher for us. They replaced Desharnais with Stecher and J. Brown, which I think isn't much of a drop. I think depth-wise, we are pretty similar. To me, it really comes down to the 2nd pair, and I like how Soucy-Myers play a lot more than the Nurse-Ceci pairing, which has failed us time and again, so I will agree that Vancouver's defense looks a bit better than Edmonton's right now.

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Ceci/Broberg
Kulak - Stecher
Gleason - J. Brown

Vancouver doesnt need another 3rd pair guy. They have 4 NHL players that can rotate on the 3rd pairing and they are decent enough in Forbort, Deharnais, Juulsen, Friedman and probably farm guys like Brisbois and potential russian wikd card in Kuds. They will try and upgrade on Myers during TDL and maybe get another Zadorov type dman or a Tanev type. But they definitely dont need or want another bottom pair dmen.in fact they have a lot of them now

 

[jackjohnson]

Some fans already posted both of them into the Blues lineup so I assume its a done deal.

Its a done deal because Oilers will have a hard time to match the offer. In fact the right move for the oilers is to get the 2nd and 3rd round pick and trade them with a 1st round pick of their own for a top 4D via trade. They will still lose one good forward but thats less of a hole to fill if it even beeds to be filled with their depth on F.

 

[Captain Controversy]

Its a done deal because Oilers will have a hard time to match the offer. In fact the right move for the oilers is to get the 2nd and 3rd round pick and trade them with a 1st round pick of their own for a top 4D via trade. They will still lose one good forward but thats less of a hole to fill if it even beeds to be filled with their depth on F.

1st, 2nd, 3rd and ceci for Anderson hargharghargh

 

[ottawah]

I wasn't all that surprised when you guys won, I was more surprised how poorly things had gone that season.

As for the oilers, I take a lot of flack but I think they are a WC team this season. Not a fan of the moves they made and I think their dcorp and goaltending sucks.

With or without Broberg it's weak but without this is a cup D?

Nurse-Ceci
Eckholm -Bouchard
Kulak- Stecher.

It is pretty much equivalent to last years D (stecher in for desarnais) that really did a great job in the Goals Against department and led them to the Stanley cup game 7, so yeah it is.

 

[DingerMcSlapshot]

St. Louis did a good job acquiring forward depth this off season but I'm not sure many are in our long term plans. We have a need at C too.

Edmonton top 6 C are set for the next decade with arguably the two best players on the planet. Blues only have Thomas set as a C in our long term plans with prospect Dvorsky as a hope. Schenn's role will diminish and be a wing.

There is an opportunity for Holloway if Edmonton passes and if he can seize it.

When did the Oilers resign McDrai? Draisaitl still might get traded. Best out for the Oilers. Oilers are in big trouble this year. No D. Soft forwards and a fat lazy goalie. And their GM is gross.

 

[ottawah]

Oilers fans have hated Ceci for 2 years, even when he is playing well. Part of it is absolutely deserved, he isn't good enough to be on a 2nd pair. The jury is out on whether the Nurse - Ceci pair was struggling more due to Nurse or Ceci, they were both bad. But Desharnais was even worse, there's a reason he was sat for Broberg in the first place.

In the playoffs Nurse got absolutely demolished in the GA department with Ceci, Deharnais and Kulak. Ceci, Dehairnais and Kulak all had excellent GA numbers without Nurse. That pretty much says it all.

 

[ottawah]

It's less to do with Ceci's objective level and more to do with finding a better fit for Nurse. We would prefer replacing Nurse, but that obviously isn't going to happen so that puts Ceci on the chopping block.

The issue was not finding a partner for Nurse, the issue is moving him away from being a defensive D man. He is not, and that was well proven in the playoffs. If the team keeps trotting him out in all tough situations, nothing short of a prime Pronger, Lidstrom or Orr will help. Nurse looked far better in the latter half of the finals when he started to get pushed down on the ice time into easily and more manageable minutes.

 

[McJedi]

Ceci would be hard to trade and trading 2 dman will leave a big hole. Who will replace them for cheap?

I can't be the only person that watched the Oilers playoff run and said to himself... you know which guys on Edmonton are playing pretty well and better than I expected.

Ceci and Kulak.

A lot of Edmonton's depth guys played quite well in the playoffs (Janmark, Foegele, McLeod, Holloway, Broberg, Brown), but Ceci and Kulak were a part of that list too.

A pretty key part of that really impressive PK and generally good team defense. Just dumping them off the roster to be replaced by nobodies like Joshua Brown and Troy Steecher seems like it will have negative consequences.

I found the OIiers playoff run very interesting. A lot of their maligned depth guys really exceeded my expectations of them, but other Oilers like RNH, Nurse (Kane-hurt) and even Ekholm to a less degree played below what I thought they were as players. I've see Drai play better than he did in the 2024 playoffs as well.

 

[beardo]

Yes. I do.

Rising tides elevate all ships.

Or you’re buried in the AHL never to play another game in the show.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Vancouver doesnt need another 3rd pair guy. They have 4 NHL players that can rotate on the 3rd pairing and they are decent enough in Forbort, Deharnais, Juulsen, Friedman and probably farm guys like Brisbois and potential russian wikd card in Kuds. They will try and upgrade on Myers during TDL and maybe get another Zadorov type dman or a Tanev type. But they definitely dont need or want another bottom pair dmen.in fact they have a lot of them now

Sorry, but if 3 of those guys see significant playoff ice time, it's bad news for Vancouver. They have a lot of #7's cycling into the #6 spot, just like Edmonton.

 

[McDrai]

When did the Oilers resign McDrai? Draisaitl still might get traded. Best out for the Oilers. Oilers are in big trouble this year. No D. Soft forwards and a fat lazy goalie. And their GM is gross.

A lot to unpack here with this winner of a post:

- Draisaitl will be signing before the season starts (there has been a lot of smoke about this in Edmonton Media as, particularly by reporters who have more of a pulse on what is going on behind closed doors)

- The defense is marginally worse than last year if we are looking at the impact that Desharnais and Broberg made. Broberg was in the minors for most of the season and Desharnais was the most impactful on the PK with limited minutes even strength. I won’t be too concerned if the Oilers parlay their picks into a dman who can bolster the blue line at the deadline.

- You may call the forwards soft but they look like the most formidable group of forwards going into next season. They can score in bunches and the power play is automatic. Most of that core group is returning from last year plus the additions of Arvidsson, Skinner and Henrique put them over the top.

- I’m assuming that you are referring to Skinner here. While he’s had his down and out moments, he has shown great resilience throughout his career and has the total confidence of his fellow teammates. He’s also been known to be one of the hardest workers in that locker room.

- We get it, Bowman shouldn’t have received a GM position right out of the gate due to his past actions (or lackthereof). I don’t see how this is relevant to the discussion.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Apparently Friedman has suggested that if Edmonton wanted to move Ceci, they would be able to do so, they just haven't wanted to do so yet, but this offer sheet might force them too. Might just be him speculating, but it sounds like trading Ceci could be an option here. I'm not sure if that's really the right move to match Broberg. It would have no bearing on matching Holloway, it comes down to whether Edmonton wants to trade Ceci to make room for Broberg at the salary St. Louis has given him, or if they would rather keep Ceci and the little bit of cap space they get from losing Broberg.

 

[Drew Doubty]

Losing Desharnais doesn't hurt much. It will hurt the PK, but it's a loss that a team can absorb. He's a nice depth guy to have though, absolutely. I think the Oilers and Canucks are now both in the situation where they will need to add a 3rd pair guy, because our #6 defensemen shouldn't be playing every night - Desharnais for you, Stecher for us. They replaced Desharnais with Stecher and J. Brown, which I think isn't much of a drop. I think depth-wise, we are pretty similar. To me, it really comes down to the 2nd pair, and I like how Soucy-Myers play a lot more than the Nurse-Ceci pairing, which has failed us time and again, so I will agree that Vancouver's defense looks a bit better than Edmonton's right now.

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Ceci/Broberg
Kulak - Stecher
Gleason - J. Brown

Desharnais is really a profile bet, he's big and can PK and for some reason this coaching staff fought hard to get him because they think they can mold him into something greater. We'll see....

The difference between the Oilers and Canucks is that while I'd say their D is somewhat similar now, maybe a slight edge to Van, Van will be accruing cap space all season long and can already add a 3.5 million dollar guy without issue today. By the TDL they could have 5 or 6 million. Of the Canucks were to add an Andersson tier guy, they would have a major edge in D and goal over the Oilers and suddenly a playoff series between them is a lot closer on paper.

 

[McJedi]

That's the tough part for Oilers management right now. Even if you make this season work, it's the longer term implications that's harder to deal with.

Due to the Drai and Bouchard contracts that expire next summer, the Oilers real window to win is in the rearview mirror. This season would be their last shot before the roster falls apart behind their top guys.

I don't see how several million of cap space disappearing this season and next with these two offer sheets (should they be matched) helps them find the room needed to resign Drai and Bouchard. The Jack Campbell buyout also jumps up to $2.3MM next year. James Neal's $1.9MM does come off the books next summer.

The pending season becomes increasing fraught each day the longer Drai is unsigned and walking into UFA. That can't go on past the TDL. And signing Drai just became more difficult with the offer sheets, if they are matched.

Nice move St Louis. The rest of the NHL loved it.

 

[Drew Doubty]

You may call the forwards soft but they look like the most formidable group of forwards going into next season. They can score in bunches and the power play is automatic. Most of that core group is returning from last year plus the additions of Arvidsson, Skinner and Henrique put them over the top.

I dunno. If they don't have Kane or Holloway I don't like the looks of this bottom six:

Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Perry-Ryan-Savoie/Hamblin

Losing Foegele and Mcleod too really impacts their overall team speed. A lot of 30+ guys who don't skate well and are injury prone. Plus there's only so much PP time to go around.

I think they should keep Holloway and let Broberg walk. Wait for a good deal for Ceci to move out the cap needed to get an upgrade on D and then hope Kane comes back and makes an impact.

 

[McDrai]

I dunno. If they don't have Kane or Holloway I don't like the looks of this bottom six:

Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Perry-Ryan-Savoie/Hamblin

Losing Foegele and Mcleod too really impacts their overall team speed. A lot of 30+ guys who don't skate well and are injury prone. Plus there's only so much PP time to go around.

I think they should keep Holloway and let Broberg walk. Wait for a good deal for Ceci to move out the cap needed to get an upgrade on D and then hope Kane comes back and makes an impact.

That 3rd line is actually pretty deceiving. Janmark and Brown are burners but would agree with you in terms of Henrique as he is slowing down. As a whole though, the 3rd line is more than fine in terms of speed. Now if we’re talking 4th line with Perry and Ryan on it, I would 100% agree with you but I don’t think both of these players will be on the same line (if so, that’s probably the slowest line in hockey).

I also agree that the Oilers will match the Holloway offer sheet and let Broberg walk. I believe the Blues wanted Broberg all along and by tending an offer sheet to Holloway as well, it essentially forced the Oilers’ hand.

 

[Drew Doubty]

That 3rd line is actually pretty deceiving. Janmark and Brown are burners but would agree with you in terms of Henrique as he is slowing down. As a whole though, the 3rd line is more than fine in terms of speed. Now if we’re talking 4th line with Perry and Ryan on it, I would 100% agree with you but I don’t think both of these players will be on the same line (if so, that’s probably the slowest line in hockey).

I also agree that the Oilers will match the Holloway offer sheet and let Broberg walk. I believe the Blues wanted Broberg all along and by tending an offer sheet to Holloway as well, it essentially forced the Oilers’ hand.

Janmark and Brown looked good in the playoffs, but they combined for less than 25 pts in the regular season. I'm not sure I love that as my depth scoring.

 

[Three On Zero]

I dunno. If they don't have Kane or Holloway I don't like the looks of this bottom six:

Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Perry-Ryan-Savoie/Hamblin

Losing Foegele and Mcleod too really impacts their overall team speed. A lot of 30+ guys who don't skate well and are injury prone. Plus there's only so much PP time to go around.

I think they should keep Holloway and let Broberg walk. Wait for a good deal for Ceci to move out the cap needed to get an upgrade on D and then hope Kane comes back and makes an impact.

That bottom 6 is a lottery teams bottom 6. Holloway would be a huge addition to it

 

[Nucklehead Supreme]

As a Rams fan from St. Louis, I'm glad that the Rams won it all in 2021 (and are in a position to win it all for years to come). I figure that if I stuck with the team through all of the bad times, I can enjoy the good times even more, right?

It's something similar with the Blues (and the St. Louis Cardinals for the past two years, ironically enough). Yes, the Blues aren't playoff contenders at the moment, but they've made a lot of very shrewd moves, they're a team clearly on the rise, and they have a lot of solid prospects and young players that are growing with the team, with a lot of the bad contracts coming off the books in the next two years.

I can be patient with the bad times to let the good times come.

 

[StreetHawk]

I also agree that the Oilers will match the Holloway offer sheet and let Broberg walk. I believe the Blues wanted Broberg all along and by tending an offer sheet to Holloway as well, it essentially forced the Oilers’ hand.

Most likely. Blues have an age gap on their D group. A bunch of 30's guys and still waiting to see if either Kessel or Purenuvich are more than 3rd pairing guys right now. It's a 5-6 year gap between these 2 and their 23 and 24 draft classes where they finally targeted Dmen in rounds 1 and 2. They really wanted to inject some younger Dmen onto their roster. Have enough vets to help pair with them and develop them.
Mon and Ana have a bunch of early 20's kids they are trying to develop. Which is hard to do trying to integrate half a young blueline.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Due to the Drai and Bouchard contracts that expire next summer, the Oilers real window to win is in the rearview mirror. This season would be their last shot before the roster falls apart behind their top guys.

I don't see how several million of cap space disappearing this season and next with these two offer sheets (should they be matched) helps them find the room needed to resign Drai and Bouchard. The Jack Campbell buyout also jumps up to $2.3MM next year. James Neal's $1.9MM does come off the books next summer.

The pending season becomes increasing fraught each day the longer Drai is unsigned and walking into UFA. That can't go on past the TDL. And signing Drai just became more difficult with the offer sheets, if they are matched.

Nice move St Louis. The rest of the NHL loved it.

Their window has passed. There is no way Draisatl extends in Edmonton. He'd be an absolute fool. Edmonton media claiming that he will extend prior to the season does not make any sense.

McDrai's ONE shot at the Cup was lost and there will not be another one.