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Defenseman
Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway played key roles in the
Oilers’ march to the Cup Final.
Broberg was an
eighth-overall pick of the Oilers in the 2019 NHL Draft. He’d bounced
between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield for three
seasons and saw action in only 10 games in the 2024 postseason.
However, he played in all seven games of the Cup Final and was solid
in a second-pairing role.
Holloway was
chosen 14th overall by the Oilers in the 2020 draft and
spent two seasons split between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate.
However, the speedy winger saw action in 25 games during the Oilers’
postseason run as a third-line winger, scoring five goals and seven
points.
Both players
entered the offseason as restricted free agents lacking arbitration
rights. That gave most of the leverage in contract talks to Oilers
management, who invested much of their cap space to retain veteran forwards Corey Perry, Adam
Henrique, and Mattias Janmark and add wingers Jeff Skinner and Viktor
Arvidsson.
It seemed the
23-year-olds would end up on inexpensive short-year deals with the
promise of more lucrative contracts down the road. However, the St.
Louis Blues threw a monkey wrench into the works, signing Broberg to
a two-year contract with an average annual value of $4.6 million and
Holloway to two years at an AAV of $2.3 million on Aug. 13.
The Oilers were unable to match those offers. On Aug. 20, Broberg and Holloway belonged to the Blues.
Both players fit in well in St. Louis. Broberg has seven points in his first eight games playing alongside veteran Justin Faulk. Holloway is seeing regular minutes on their third line, netting three goals and four points in his first eight contests.
The Oilers, meanwhile, stumbled from the gate with a 2-4-1 record. They look slower without Holloway’s speed while their thin defense corps could certainly use Broberg’s 6’4″, 212-pound presence and all-around blueline skills. Losing those two promising youngsters could haunt them if they blossom into stars in St. Louis.
