Armstrong: I'd tender offer sheet even if my mother was opposing GM

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong would've signed Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets regardless of who the Edmonton Oilers' GM was.

"This is a tool that I think everyone uses and should use," Armstrong said, according to NHL.com's Lou Korac. "I think it was reported that I wouldn't have done this to Kenny Holland. That's the furthest thing from the truth.

"Quite honestly, I'd do it to my mother if she was managing the Oilers. My job is to take care of the St. Louis Blues fans and the St. Louis Blues organization. We saw an opportunity to do that."

The Blues successfully landed Broberg and Holloway on Tuesday as Oilers GM Stan Bowman opted not to match the contracts. Edmonton hired Bowman on July 24 after Holland left the organization at season's end.

The offer sheets were the first tendered since the Carolina Hurricanes plucked Jesperi Kotkaniemi out of Montreal in 2021. Only two offer sheets had been signed in the past decade before St. Louis' move last week.

"If there is a GM code not to do offer sheets, no one emailed it to me," Armstrong said, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

Broberg comes in at a $4.58-million cap hit and cost a second-round pick as compensation. Holloway signed for a $2.29-million AAV and required a third-round pick.

"Maybe overpaying, if you want to say that, for these guys (but it) wasn't difficult for us because we have the cap space," Armstrong said, per Korac. "When their contracts are done, the cap should be approximately $100 million, potentially. ... We think it's a good investment for us."

Armstrong summarized his opinion on the use of offer sheets.

"That code I have been hearing about, it's not true," Armstrong said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Matthew DeFranks. "Managers do what they have to do for their franchises. If they don't, they shouldn't be doing their job."

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