TORONTO -- Jordan Binnington is stoked at the aggressive moves the St. Louis Blues have made recently, especially the additions of former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway.
“It’s good to see some fight from the management in order to show confidence in our team to be better, faster and be more competitive,” the Blues goalie said Thursday. “And I think we can feed off that.”
They have reason to do just that.
Broberg and Holloway were both restricted free agents, requiring St. Louis to submit offer sheets and wait a week to see if Edmonton would match. The last time a player changed teams through an offer sheet was on Aug. 28, 2021, when forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi left the Montreal Canadiens and joined the Carolina Hurricanes. With the offer sheets tendered on Aug. 13, Edmonton had until Tuesday to match the offers and keep one or both players or receive NHL Draft compensation from St. Louis.
When Edmonton declined, both players became members of the Blues. Broberg signed a two-year, $9.16 million contract ($4.58 million average annual value) and Holloway signed a two-year, $4.58 million contract ($2.29 million AAV). The Oilers received a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft as compensation for Broberg and a third-round pick for Holloway.
Broberg, who was selected by Edmonton with the No. 8 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, had two assists in 12 regular-season games and three points (two goals, one assist) in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Oilers last season. He has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 81 regular-season games over three seasons and three points (two goals, one assist) in 20 playoff games.
Holloway had nine points (six goals, three assists) in 38 regular-season games and seven points (five goals, two assists) in 25 playoff games last season. The No. 14 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Oilers, Holloway has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 89 regular-season games and seven points (five goals, two assists) in 26 playoff games.
“We’ll build off of this,” Binnington said. “And going into camp, I know everyone’s excited, getting two new good pieces and just taking on this season.”