The offseason just got that much more difficult for new Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman.
Apart from trying to negotiate a long-term contract with Leon Draisaitl, the controversial GM will now have to decide on the futures of young players Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg after the pair signed offer sheets with the St. Louis Blues.
Holloway signed a two-year deal that carries a cap hit of $2.29 million, while Broberg inked a more expensive two-year contract worth $4.58 million per year. The Oilers will have a total of seven days to decide whether or not to match these offers.
If Bowman opts to let both of them sign with the Blues, Edmonton would receive St. Louis’ second-round pick in compensation for Broberg and a third-round pick in exchange for Holloway.
It’s far from ideal for the Oilers, as both players were expected to play important roles on the team next season. But can Edmonton even afford to match these contracts?
I honestly can’t see how the #Oilers will be able to keep both Holloway and Broberg with those offer sheets…
Holloway is doable at around $2 mil but $4+ mil for Broberg??? Sure Kane is probably going on LTIR but woof…
Blues out for blood with these
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) August 13, 2024
The total cap hit of both of these contracts is $6.87 million, meaning the Oilers would have to open up at least that much cap space to retain both players. Edmonton currently has —$341,667 in cap space, which means they would not be able to fit either contract under the cap.
That doesn’t mean the path for matching both offers is impossible. Reports surfaced yesterday that Oilers forward Evander Kane is likely headed to LTIR to start next season, temporarily giving the team an additional $5.125 million in cap space to work with. That would bump up Edmonton’s cap space to around $4.78 million and allow the team to retain at least one of Holloway or Broberg.
That relief, however, would only be for the duration of Kane’s injury, and cap space would need to be opened up another way once he is activated off LTIR.
It’s a short-term solution, but it will not likely last an entire season. If the Oilers want to ensure they can keep both players, they may have to consider trading some players to make room.
Two prime candidates that Bowman could consider offloading are defenceman Cody Ceci ($3.25 million cap hit) and Brett Kulak ($2.75 million cap hit). Trading one of those players would open up enough space to sign Holloway, and trading both of them would give the Oilers just under $6 million in cap space. With Kane going on LTIR, they could sign both players to these offer sheets and open the season under the cap.
As mentioned, Kane’s LTIR relief is temporary, but if you trade Kulak and Ceci, the Oilers will only have to find that extra $1 million or so instead of the full contracts, which is much more doable.
The last question is if the Oilers should even bother matching these offers. Broberg is a young defenceman who has shown brief flashes of excellence but has struggled to become a full-time NHLer. Paying him over $4 million for the next two seasons is a helluva gamble and one that could throw a wrench into the Oilers cap plans as they have to re-sign the likes of Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard to new contracts as soon as next summer.
Holloway seems like the better bet, as he is coming off a great playoff run and seems to be turning the corner offensively. A two-year contract with a $2.29 million cap hit is probably more than he should make at the moment, but it is a lot easier to fit and is more reasonable than where Broberg wound up.
Bowman and the Oilers will have to perform some serious cap gymnastics if they want to retain both Holloway and Broberg, but there is a path to doing so.