The Loss of Broberg and Holloway Gripe Thread

Mr Positive

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I'm sure when Bowman revisted w/ Broberg his stance didn't change despite his playoff usage.
The thought of having to play on your offside while babysitting Nurse is a recipe for failure.

He was never gonna stay
Then trade him in early July rather than offer him 1.0 x2 years and then turn off the phone. But yes I don't think Bowman really owns the loss on this one. It's all Holland and Jackson
 

McDNicks17

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Then trade him in early July rather than offer him 1.0 x2 years and then turn off the phone. But yes I don't think Bowman really owns the loss on this one. It's all Holland and Jackson
The offer sheets were already ready to go in July.

No team was going to give up legit assets for him without talking to him first and his agent would be asking to get blacklisted if he didn't disclose the incoming offer sheets.

Broberg wanted out and his agent exercised every right they had to make the offer sheet the only possible outcome.
 
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Mr Positive

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The offer sheets were already ready to go in July.

No team was going to give up legit assets for him without talking to him first and his agent would be asking to get blacklisted if he didn't disclose the incoming offer sheets.

Broberg wanted out and his agent exercised every right they had to make the offer sheet the only possible outcome.
I don't buy this.

What you do is tell the team you are dealing with that there is a big risk of an offer sheet. That hurts the value but not by that much. If we are trading him to a seller, that means they have cap space to burn, and that includes matching offer sheets. There is no shortage of teams like that, who need talent and will overpay for it. There is zero need for the new team to talk to Broberg first

And let's be real. If he's traded to a team with tons of cap space, he's no longer an offer sheet target from St.Louis ( not that it matters a lot)
 

McDNicks17

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I don't buy this.

What you do is tell the team you are dealing with that there is a big risk of an offer sheet. That hurts the value but not by that much. If we are trading him to a seller, that means they have cap space to burn, and that includes matching offer sheets. There is no shortage of teams like that, who need talent and will overpay for it. There is zero need for the new team to talk to Broberg first

And let's be real. If he's traded to a team with tons of cap space, he's no longer an offer sheet target from St.Louis ( not that it matters a lot)
No team is going to trade for a disgruntled RFA without talking to them first. The Oilers wanting to trade him would have been an obvious red flag for teams to investigate.

Then it's as simple as telling any potential traders that you're looking for $5M on a deal and every one will scoff at giving up anything worthwhile.
 

Mr Positive

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No team is going to trade for a disgruntled RFA without talking to them first. The Oilers wanting to trade him would have been an obvious red flag for teams to investigate.

Then it's as simple as telling any potential traders that you're looking for $5M on a deal and every one will scoff at giving up anything worthwhile.
Broberg was an RFA with no power. Players get traded to worse situations that they would prefer all the time, and they suck it up and play it out. It's obvious that Broberg's gripe was lack of usage. I don't see the downside for some team like Utah or whoever negotiating with Broberg. He'd have to sign eventually and he's not going to sit out games. Sitting out games is why he was pissed off at the Oilers
 
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McDNicks17

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Broberg was an RFA with no power. Players get traded to worse situations that they would prefer all the time, and they suck it up and play it out. It's obvious that Broberg's gripe was lack of usage. I don't see the downside for some team like Utah or whoever negotiating with Broberg. He'd have to sign eventually and he's not going to sit out games. Sitting out games is why he was pissed off at the Oilers
Why would Broberg agree to a deal with Utah that's a penny less than the offer sheet? And if Utah was willing to pay him that, why didn't they beat STL to the punch?

If teams were lining up to pay him $4.6M, he probably wouldn't have made it until the middle of August without an offer sheet.
 
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Mr Positive

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Why would Broberg agree to a deal with Utah that's a penny less than the offer sheet? And if Utah was willing to pay him that, why didn't they beat STL to the punch?

If teams were lining up to pay him $4.6M, he probably wouldn't have made it until the middle of August without an offer sheet.
We don't know that Broberg didn't get an offer sheet from Utah. Broberg has to sign it. I see why he liked the Blues.

There would be plenty of teams who would take Broberg at the cap hit the Blues got him for. These these teams have cap space to burn. They are itching for a top 10 pick with all signs pointing up and fully developed.
 

McDNicks17

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We don't know that Broberg didn't get an offer sheet from Utah. Broberg has to sign it. I see why he liked the Blues.

There would be plenty of teams who would take Broberg at the cap hit the Blues got him for. These these teams have cap space to burn. They are itching for a top 10 pick with all signs pointing up and fully developed.
Fair. I just don't really see why Broberg wouldn't sign an offer sheet from someone else then wait until the middle of August to sign the Blues' if there were a bunch of teams sending them.

That kind of goes back to my last point too though. If Broberg and his agent specifically wanted STL, would you not be throwing cold water on any talks from potential traders to make sure you get to the offer sheet before you're traded?
 

Mr Positive

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Fair. I just don't really see why Broberg wouldn't sign an offer sheet from someone else then wait until the middle of August to sign the Blues' if there were a bunch of teams sending them.

That kind of goes back to my last point too though. If Broberg and his agent specifically wanted STL, would you not be throwing cold water on any talks from potential traders to make sure you get to the offer sheet before you're traded?
I could also see a situation where maybe the offer sheet is already signed but the Blues just have to file it, and they are waiting for perfect timing. Maybe making a trade in that situation is near impossible because as soon as the Blues get any whiff they pull the trigger. But the problem there is that how would anyone else know what the Blues are up to besides Broberg and perhaps the Oilers? Why would Utah or Chicago or Calgary or whoever know?

It's just that the simple answer is that we just assumed that Broberg would accept whatever we gave him because our team is just that awesome. Fresh off of a finals appearance and a plan to use him in the top 4 next year. It just makes the most sense that our management misread the situation entirely.
 

McFlash97

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You gotta be some kind of naive or have an agenda to post this.
Bowman went thru the entire org to discuss these players. They weighed all the options and facts, and there were many.

This wasn't an egomaniacal decision.
The post on the other hand....
Ok there Bowmans inside man. The final conclusion , sign neither, waste a few million on pylons and call it a day. Good to know.
Thank god this has it's own thread.

Losing two guys who put up a combined 11 points for us last year is not why this team is struggling out the gates.
Bro,

I presume you don't watch any other team other than the Oilers if you ultimately come to this conclusion.
 

McDNicks17

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I could also see a situation where maybe the offer sheet is already signed but the Blues just have to file it, and they are waiting for perfect timing. Maybe making a trade in that situation is near impossible because as soon as the Blues get any whiff they pull the trigger. But the problem there is that how would anyone else know what the Blues are up to besides Broberg and perhaps the Oilers? Why would Utah or Chicago or Calgary or whoever know?

It's just that the simple answer is that we just assumed that Broberg would accept whatever we gave him because our team is just that awesome. Fresh off of a finals appearance and a plan to use him in the top 4 next year. It just makes the most sense that our management misread the situation entirely.
They don't have to know. If Broberg wanted the Blues, he and his agent would just have to tell anyone else they wouldn't sign with them and there's no way they trade for him.

We'll probably never really know what happened, but to me it looks like Broberg wanted out, secured the offer sheet early on(maybe even as early as when he was granted permission to talk to teams when he requested a trade) and had 100% of the leverage because of it. I don't think any amount of diligence was going to lead to getting him signed or getting him traded for a package better than they ended up receiving.
 

belair

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He wanted out early last season when he was 7th or 8th defender. 7th or 8th defender behind plugs like Desharnais.

He didn't want out after coach K eventually realised he was better than most defenders in the organisations and started playing him regularly in the Stanley Cup. Instead he requested 1.8 Million and a one way contract. The Oilers brass refused and didn't return to the negotiations.

Broberg would have been an Oiler earning 1.8 mil had we seen competent management. But management preferred useless playes like Dermott, Emberson and Stetcher over Broberg and Ceci. Sad...
There was no reality where Broberg would've been happy in Edmonton, even at $1.8m. The damage was done well before.

This was Ken Holland's calling card. Overcooking prospects and waiting until they earn the role. You don't do that shit in the cap era. And you sure as hell shouldn't be doing it to your 1st rounders.
 
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McDNicks17

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There was no reality where Broberg would've been happy in Edmonton, even at $1.8m. The damage was done well before.

This was Ken Holland's calling card. Overcooking prospects and waiting until they earn the role. You don't do that shit in the cap era. And you sure as hell shouldn't be doing it to your 1st rounders.
Yup. Friedman confirmed Broberg's trade demand was never rescinded. There was no change of heart after getting some minutes under Knob.
 

Behind Enemy Lines

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He wasn't a disgruntled player. He was a young player caught in an organization that traded for veteran blueline support which blocked a clear path to regular ice time. After the floundering team dithered with him largely in the press box, Broberg took the AHL demotion and ran with it. He then delivered quality deep playoff minutes. Pretty obvious scenario where the player's actions spoke clearly about character (which was always praised including a rare 3 time letter U20 national team member).

The Oilers had an opportunity to move pro-actively on their primary RFA prioritizing him after a successful playoff run. Meet with the player agent before free agency and affirm their plan and negotiate to find salary consideration. Demonstrate intent and desire to sign your homegrown talent. But also be pro-active calling other GM's to call around to explore all scenarios. A logical first call would be St. Louis who had deep interest in both Broberg and Holloway.

Flush out Broberg's camp intent by going to their alleged $1.8 million counter price. Pay a small premium on a player who's put in the development miles and then stepped into the breach of Final 4 NHL playoffs which helped this team reach the Final. Reward your homegrown pedigree player. Work to retain a quality asset if only to leverage down the road like the McLeod trade. If the $1.8 offer is rejected then elevate trade discussions with other teams. Once again, a logical qualified first call would be to St. Louis with whom there were reportedly deep trade deadline conversations about the players it sounds like over two seasons. The Blues didn't have their required 2nd round pick so any offer sheet in July was conceptual. Call other GM's who had expressed interest previously in Broberg and find the deal that works. Reinforcing that any predatory offer sheets would be matched.

Instead the Oilers prioritized Josh Brown as a July 1st signing at $1 million x 3. No reason they needed to do this deal on day 1 on a #6/7 journeyman d-man. Then they passively sat on their one offer until the Market set a new value beyond this team's cap strapped willingness to pay. Poor signal for a young player who did as required to step back to AHL and reset his game. Then stepped up for the team in the playoffs.
 
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Behind Enemy Lines

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There was no reality where Broberg would've been happy in Edmonton, even at $1.8m. The damage was done well before.

This was Ken Holland's calling card. Overcooking prospects and waiting until they earn the role. You don't do that shit in the cap era. And you sure as hell shouldn't be doing it to your 1st rounders.
If that is the case - and it's unknown because the Oilers never moved off their qualifying offer - then the Oilers organization under leadership of a former super agent is incompetent. They should have protected against the flight risk by initiating trade calls with GM's who had showed interest in Broberg and reinforced to all parties including Broberg's agent and qualified GM's that they would match any predatory offers.

But if you don't engage in pro-active negotiation then we see the consequences.
 

McShogun99

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Why would Broberg agree to a deal with Utah that's a penny less than the offer sheet? And if Utah was willing to pay him that, why didn't they beat STL to the punch?

If teams were lining up to pay him $4.6M, he probably wouldn't have made it until the middle of August without an offer sheet.
In an athletic article his agent said that there were 4 other teams willing to do the same offer sheet but had to clear cap space first. STL had the space and put in the offer sheet. It’s 4x his real value at that time so still a calculated gamble for STL if he doesn’t pan out as the year goes on.
 
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ckw909

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STL fan here. Not here to troll. Used to have an hfboard account long ago but it's been ages since I used it. Anyways...

I can't believe the Edmonton FO let Broberg walk and more importantly, let his situation degrade to the point he asked for a trade multiple times. He showed what he's capable of in the playoffs and he's only 23 years old.

He hasn't been just good. He's been our best defenseman so far and it's not even debatable. He's changed the entire city's outlook on the season, mostly because since Pietrangelo walked he's exactly the kind of player the team's been missing.

Obviously, still way early in the season but he's already our MVP, well, outside of Binngton/Hofer that is. I'd feel bad for you guys if you weren't stacked with more offensive weapons and probably the best player on the planet since Gretzky/Messier/Kurri/Anderson.

So can't feel toooo bad for you. lol :)
 

McDNicks17

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In an athletic article his agent said that there were 4 other teams willing to do the same offer sheet but had to clear cap space first. STL had the space and put in the offer sheet. It’s 4x his real value at that time so still a calculated gamble for STL if he doesn’t pan out as the year goes on.
Makes sense. That kind of debunks the idea that any team with cap space was willing to pay him $4.6M if those teams were having to clear cap.

The looming offer sheet basically gave Broberg and his agent full control of the situation.
 

Mr Positive

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They don't have to know. If Broberg wanted the Blues, he and his agent would just have to tell anyone else they wouldn't sign with them and there's no way they trade for him.
Of all the objections to the idea that we could have traded him, this one is not valid. Wherever Broberg's rights landed, he would have signed with his new team and play NHL games.

When Shea Weber signed his offer sheet with the Flyers, his agent went on radio shows and said that Shea wanted out of Nashville. But, Nashville matched because they knew there was no power there. If Weber sucked it up and played, of course Broberg would have. He absolutely would have played on the Oilers even, if offer sheets weren't an option for him
 

Lay Z Boy GM

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STL fan here. Not here to troll. Used to have an hfboard account long ago but it's been ages since I used it. Anyways...

I can't believe the Edmonton FO let Broberg walk and more importantly, let his situation degrade to the point he asked for a trade multiple times. He showed what he's capable of in the playoffs and he's only 23 years old.

He hasn't been just good. He's been our best defenseman so far and it's not even debatable. He's changed the entire city's outlook on the season, mostly because since Pietrangelo walked he's exactly the kind of player the team's been missing.

Obviously, still way early in the season but he's already our MVP, well, outside of Binngton/Hofer that is. I'd feel bad for you guys if you weren't stacked with more offensive weapons and probably the best player on the planet since Gretzky/Messier/Kurri/Anderson.

So can't feel toooo bad for you. lol :)
I see him more as your new Jay Bouwmeester. But yeah, our management always finds a way to f*** up. I feel like when we drafted McDavid there were many potential timelines where we could have been a dynasty, just make an actually good team with McDavid on it.. we are in one of the darkest timelines possible.
 

Jumptheshark

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The offer sheets were already ready to go in July.

No team was going to give up legit assets for him without talking to him first and his agent would be asking to get blacklisted if he didn't disclose the incoming offer sheets.

Broberg wanted out and his agent exercised every right they had to make the offer sheet the only possible outcome.


Agree slightly

Broberg wanted out and I think he would have almost played anywhere
 

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