The busy off-season for the Edmonton Oilers continues. They hired a new General Manager, resigned their pending UFA’s, signed some intriguing players in free agency, made some really good trades, and had to deal with 2 offer sheets thrown their way. With that said, lets break down the eventful last week in Oil Country.
The Offer Sheets
On August 13th, the St. Louis Blues tendered offer sheets to current Oilers RFA’s, Philip Broberg, and Dylan Holloway. The offer sheet signed by defenseman, Philip Broberg is for 2-years, with an AAV of $4,580,917. That is the maximum offer that would require a 2nd-round pick as compensation. One dollar more, and that 2nd-round pick becomes a 1st and a 3rd. The offer sheet signed by left winger, Dylan Holloway is for 2-years, with an AAV of $2,290,457. That is the maximum offer that would result in a 3rd-round pick as compensation.
This was a cheeky, and cut-throat move by St. Louis Blues General Manager, Doug Armstrong. According to PuckPedia, the Blues had $7,339,166 million in cap space for this upcoming season prior to these offer sheets. That available cap space, the low compensation required, the high ceiling of these RFA’s, as well as the cap situation of the Edmonton Oilers, made this a perfect offer sheet target.
Offer sheets are rare in today’s NHL. These two offer sheets are the first since the Carolina Hurricanes took Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the Montreal Canadiens in August 2021. Broberg and Holloway become the the 11th, and 12th offer sheeted players of the salary cap era.
Offer Sheets Result
The Oilers had 7 days to match these offers. Ultimately, the Oilers did not match either offer sheet, meaning both Philip Broberg, and Dylan Holloway are now St. Louis Blues. At the end of the day, $4.5 million is an expensive price tag for a relatively unproven player.
This is poor asset management on behalf of the Oilers. They let 2 former 1st-round picks go for only a 2nd, and a 3rd round pick in return. It is an unfortunate situation since both youngsters were finally mainstays on this roster. They injected much needed youth into this aging group. These players were going to be major contributors on the Oilers moving forward, and management really dropped the ball not signing them earlier.
The Trades
On August 18th, the Oilers acquired Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 4th-round pick. Later that night, the Oilers traded away veteran defensemen Cody Ceci, and a 3rd round pick to the San Jose Sharks for 24-year old, right-shot defenseman Ty Emberson. Podkolzin, 23, has a $1 million cap hit, while Emberson has a cap hit of just $950 K. Not only did the Oilers trade away Ceci’s $3.25 million cap hit, they also acquired a young blueliner that can help the team right now. Emberson played 30 games for the Sharks last season, registering 10 points, averaging over 18 minutes a night, with a minus 4 rating on that dreadful Sharks team.
Emberson should slot in nicely on the Oilers 3rd-pair alongside Brett Kulak. However, due to the Cody Ceci departure, and the decision not to match Phillip Broberg’s offer sheet, Emberson may be forced to play on the 2nd pair alongside Darnell Nurse. Unless, there is another move coming.
Opening Night Lineup
| Nugent-Hopkins | McDavid | Hyman |
| Skinner | Draisatil | Arvidsson |
| Janmark | Henrique | Brown |
| Podkolzin | Ryan | Perry |
| Ekholm | Bouchard |
| Nurse | Emberson |
| Kulak | Stecher |
| Skinner | Pickard |
This defense core has many question marks. The decision to let Broberg and Holloway walk gives the team some much needed cap flexibility. Especially if Evander Kane is on LTIR for the majority of the season. This is an aging team with only 6 players under the age of 30 come playoff time (Darnell Nurse turns 30 in February). I do expect 20-year old forward, Matt Savoie on the big club some time this season.
Do you agree with the organizations decision not to match either offer sheet?
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