The Edmonton Oilers lost two players to the St. Louis Blues this summer. The Blues successfully acquired Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg with two aggressive offers.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman had the chance to match these offers, which would have added approximately $4.58 million and $2.29 million to the team’s payroll, respectively. However, he chose not to.
Bowman told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he believes the contracts offered to Broberg and Holloway will end up costing the Blues significantly.
In fact, Bowman believes that these players don’t yet warrant such high salaries, and his assessment seems accurate.
Broberg, who has played fewer than 82 NHL games and spent much of last season in the AHL, will command about $4.58 million with his new contract. While he is showing promise, he has not yet made a significant impact.
Had the Oilers matched the offer, Broberg would have been paid more than the team’s top defenseman, Evan Bouchard, who earns $3.5 million.
On the other hand, the offer for Holloway, at around $2.29 million per season, was somewhat more reasonable but still deemed too costly for a team with championship aspirations that needs to be mindful of its budget.
For the Blues, these contracts were likely a strategic move to secure Broberg and Holloway. While the deals may be costly in the early years, they have successfully acquired both players, who were top-15 picks in their respective draft years.
The issue for the Oilers is that they appear to be struggling with player negotiations. Bowman felt he made fair offers but was not willing to overpay. The Oilers’ proposed contracts were $1.1 million per season for Broberg and $1.05 million per year for Holloway, significantly lower than what the Blues offered.
Told the original offers from the Oilers to Phillip Broberg was a 2 year deal with an AAV of $1.1 million. The offer on the table from Edmonton to Dylan Holloway is believed to have been a 3 year deal at $1.050 million. #LetsgoOilers #stlblues
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) August 20, 2024
Bowman is aware that these players could one day play hockey at the value of their new contracts, but that’s not the case at all right now.
– Completely crazy.
– Larsson stays in Seattle.
– Canada got off to a good start against the United States.