Oilers elect not to match Blues’ offer sheets on Broberg, Holloway

The Edmonton Oilers have elected not to match the offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues on defenceman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway.

The Oilers had until Tuesday morning to match, seven days after the Blues signed the two restricted free agents.

Edmonton receives a second-round pick back for Broberg and a third-round pick back for Holloway from the Blues as compensation. Broberg received a two-year offer from the Blues at $4,580,917 per season, while Dylan Holloway’s offer was at $2,290,457 per year on a two-year term.

In a separate transaction Tuesday, St. Louis traded their 2028 third-round draft pick and unsigned 2023 fifth-round draft selection Paul Fischer to Edmonton for future considerations.

“We really took our time analyzing and evaluating the different options,” Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said. “I had a number of phone calls over the last week with most teams in the league trying to see what they were trying to do with their roster if they were trying to move any players out or if they were trying to add in players to the mix. So we exhausted all opportunities and at the end of the day we ended up where we are today, which is we did not match either offer sheet.”

Receiving the picks back allows the Oilers to restock after being down to only a sixth- and seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft following their two trades Sunday. The Oilers traded their third-round pick and defenceman Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenceman Ty Emberson after trading their 2025 fourth-rounder earlier in the day to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Vasily Podkolzin.

The decision also helps the Oilers keep cap space free this season and, importantly next year, with Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard both now eligible to sign extensions.

“By matching the Oilers would have boxed themselves in with the salary cap quite badly,” TSN’s Ryan Rishaug wrote on X Tuesday. “Letting them walk will hurt because they are good players, but this was a well calculated play by the Blues. Oilers decided to maintain flexibility and options rather than match. Some big contracts coming soon.”

With Ceci and Broberg now removed from the Oilers roster, Emberson appears set to hold a role on the blueline this season. The 24-year-old had one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 30 games last season, averaging 18:32 of ice time as a rookie. He is signed at a $950,000 cap hit this season.

Adding Podkolzin may have been added as an insurance policy for not matching on Holloway. Selected 10th overall in the 2019 draft, the 23-year-old has struggled to carve out a full-time role as an NHL player. He had two assists in 19 games last season and has 18 goals and 35 points over 137 career games, all with the Canucks.

Holloway, Broberg join Blues

The two now-former Oilers join a Blues roster that missed the playoffs for a second straight season last spring. St. Louis was largely quiet in the off-season before inking the offer sheets, adding veteran defenceman Ryan Suter among their few moves.

The Blues sent a 2025 second-round pick to Pittsburgh Penguins to move Kevin Hayes in exchange for future considerations in late June, but that deal proved costly in their offer-sheet strategy. The Blues needed to re-acquire that selection in order to sign Broberg at the price they did and sent a 2026 second-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick (the Ottawa Senators’ selection) to the Penguins to get their pick and a 2026 fifth-rounder back.

Broberg, 23, had two assists in 12 games with Edmonton during the regular season in 2023-24 and posted two goals and an assist in 10 games during the postseason, playing in all seven games during the Stanley Cup Final. He averaged 15:47 of ice time in the playoffs.

Broberg’s agent, Darren Ferris, told TSN’s Ryan Rishaug that there were multiple teams prepared to give offer sheets to the defenceman. He added that the Oilers offer to Broberg was for two years at a $1.1 million average annual value.

Holloway, selected 14th overall by Edmonton in the 2020 draft, split time between the Oilers and AHL’s Bakersfield Condors this past season, posting six goals and nine points in 38 games with the NHL club. The 22-year-old forward appeared in all 25 games during the postseason, posting five goals and two assists.

Oilers become cap compliant

The Oilers appeared to position themselves to match at least one of the offer sheets upon trading Ceci and clearing cap space.

Moving Ceci cleared his $3.25 million cap hit from the Oilers books, and appeared to set a potential path for the Oilers to fit Broberg and Holloway under the salary cap. PuckPedia reported that the Oilers could have fit both contracts under the salary cap if Evander Kane was placed on long-term injured reserve and one player carrying a cap hit of $801,000 or more is sent to the AHL.

Shelving Kane on LTIR, though, would likely only be a short-term solution for Edmonton. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported last this week that he believes surgery is the most likely course of action for Kane, who is not likely to be ready for training camp and could be out several months. The Oilers would eventually need to clear cap space to reinstate him onto the roster should he recover before the end of the regular season.

Electing not to match leaves the Oilers as cap compliant without needing to move Kane on long-term injured reserve.