Dylan Holloway reveals ‘weird’ Oilers contract talks after Blues signing

The Edmonton Oilers lost two of their younger players in NHL Free Agency this summer. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg signed offer sheets with the St. Louis Blues. It’s unprecedented for two offer sheets to be successful in a single offseason. For Holloway, though, it was an outcome he came to accept as the summer went along.

Holloway appeared on the Hockey Sense podcast hosted by reporter Andy Strickland. During this podcast, Holloway opened up about the process of signing his offer sheet with St. Louis. He also revealed the lack of contract talks he held with the Oilers over the summer.

“We knew about the offer sheet before we had any negotiations with Edmonton, which was kind of weird. We were trying to get a deal done. I don’t think we were asking for anything crazy at all,” the new Blues forward told Strickland. “If anything we were very upfront with Edmonton the whole time, even about the whole offer sheet. We explained, ‘Hey, this was an option for us. Can we get a deal?’ And it was weird the way they handled it. I felt I had no other option but to sign the offer sheet.”

Dylan Holloway reveals Oilers teammate’s reaction to Blues signing

Dylan Holloway is one of four players to successfully sign an offer sheet since the advent of the salary cap era. It’s a rarity in the NHL due to a sort of stigma, if you will, around these offer sheets. General managers across the league are known to hold grudges over them. In fact, a fight nearly broke out over an offer sheet.

Among players, though, it’s a different story. Holloway mentioned that his former Edmonton teammates understood his decision to sign with the Blues. At the end of the day, everyone understands that the game of hockey has a business side to it.

“Everybody understands. It’s the whole business. I don’t think the fans really understand. It’s the whole-business side to it. I can want to be on a team for all the right reasons but if the management doesn’t see eye-to-eye. It’s the whole business with the salary cap,” Holloway told Strickland.

The former Oilers forward could find himself in a position to break out with the Blues. He could certainly end up as a key piece for a St. Louis team hoping to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. Holloway figures to make his debut with his new team on October 8 against the Seattle Kraken in Seattle.

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