Broberg, Holloway join Blues after Oilers don't match offer sheets

Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway each signed a two-year contract with the St. Louis Blues after the Edmonton Oilers did not match the offer sheets tendered by the Blues on Aug. 13.

Edmonton had until Tuesday to match the offers and keep the restricted free agents or receive NHL Draft compensation from St. Louis.

"We were evaluating the situation that we were in when those offer sheets came in and given that, as well as the other constraints that we have, we didn't feel like it was the right move to essentially limit our optionality moving forward not only this year but in the future," Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said. "So, it's less about the players and the abilities and their talents. It's really about trying to set ourselves up in the best position that we can be, so that we have some options."

Broberg's contract ($9.16 million, $4.58 million average annual value) resulted in a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft as compensation. Holloway's contract ($4.58 million, $2.29 million AAV) resulted in a third-round pick.

"At the end of the day, it's business," Broberg said. "I'm very excited for the opportunity here in St. Louis. I'm very thankful for the years in Edmonton as well and for the teammates and coaches I had there. I'm looking forward to a new chapter in St. Louis now."

Broberg had two assists in 12 regular-season games with the Oilers last season and three points (two goals, one assist) in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Selected by Edmonton with the No. 8 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old defenseman has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 81 regular-season games and three points (two goals, one assist) in 20 playoff games.

Broberg said he received offer sheets from two other teams but he and his agent chose St. Louis.

"It's been wild," Broberg said. "I'm very excited to be a Blue and I'm very looking forward to meeting everybody and getting to know the staff and everybody and teammates. I'm just excited. … I think this team has some very good young guys and I would like to help the team in any way I can. I'm looking forward to see what we can do next year."

Holloway, a 22-year-old forward, had nine points (six goals, three assists) in 38 regular-season games for the Oilers last season and seven points (five goals, two assists) in 25 playoff games. Selected by Edmonton with the No. 14 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Holloway has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 89 regular-season games and seven points (five goals, two assists) in 26 playoff games.

"It's kind of a crazy opportunity, it doesn't happen often, but it was an opportunity I really couldn't pass up," Holloway said. "For myself, we were trying to get a number with Edmonton and we were just pretty far off in our negotiations, I'd say. With St. louis, too I was able to talk to (general manager) Doug Armstrong before I signed it and he gave me a vision of where St. Louis is going as a team. Just how they have such a good young core group and their goals for the next couple of years. I wasn't sure what was going to happen with the offer sheet ... but I figured either way it'd be a good option for me."

The Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last season before losing to the Florida Panthers in seven games. The Blues have not qualified for the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

"These are two young players we've watched when they were in their draft year and watched them develop," Blues GM Doug Armstrong said of Broberg and Holloway. "They've been on a very competitive team over the last couple of years and shuffled between American League and NHL as Edmonton worked its salary cap. We saw really good growth from them in the American League and what they did last year in the playoffs."

In a separate transaction Tuesday, the Blues traded unsigned defenseman prospect Paul Fischer and a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft to the Oilers for future considerations.

The last offer sheet that had led to a player changing teams prior to Tuesday was given to Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who signed a one-year, $6.1 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on Aug. 28, 2021. Montreal received a first- and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft as compensation.

Compensation to the team losing a player to an offer sheet escalates from no compensation for a contract worth $1.51 million or less per season, to four first-round draft picks for a contract worth more than $11.45 million per season.

On Sunday, the Oilers acquired defenseman Ty Emberson from the San Jose Sharks and forward Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks. Edmonton traded defenseman Cody Ceci and a third-round pick in the 2025 draft to San Jose for Emberson, and a fourth-round pick in 2025 to Vancouver for Podkolzin.

"We weren't painting ourselves just down just one and only one pathway for this season," Bowman said. "So, we made those subsequent moves to be able to bring in a couple young players as well as an additional draft pick, additional prospect. So, I think when you look at it in the totality of it, you realize that we were faced with a challenging situation, but I thought we moved forward with the best series of transactions to put us in a good spot heading into training camp."

Emberson had 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 30 games as a rookie last season with the Sharks, who signed the 24-year-old to a one-year, $950,000 contract July 11.

Podkolzin, 23, had two assists in 19 NHL games last season and 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) in 44 games with Abbotsford of the American Hockey League. Selected by Vancouver with the No. 10 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Podkolzin has 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) in 137 games. He is entering the first season of a two-year contract he signed with the Canucks on April 18.

Ceci had 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 79 games last season. The 30-year-old also had five points (two goals, three assists) in 24 playoff games.

He has one season remaining on the four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 million AAV) he signed with Edmonton on July 28, 2021.