Oilers GM takes subtle shot at Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway

The Edmonton Oilers had a tough decision to make when Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway were offer sheeted by the St. Louis Blues earlier this summer — and general manager Stan Bowman chose not to match them.

On Monday, the controversial GM took a parting shot at the two young players.

“The players can probably grow into those deals, but as of today, they’re way above their actual performance,” Bowman told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun earlier this week.

Broberg, 23, will make $4,580,917 in each of the next two seasons in Missouri before becoming a restricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Holloway, 22, is in a similar boat, although he’ll make $2,290,457 in each of 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Although Broberg and Holloway are largely unproven players in the National Hockey League, both were impactful in Edmonton’s thrilling run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The former chipped in two goals and three points over 10 postseason contests, while the latter added seven points in 25 contests.

Bowman did make it clear that he and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong are not at odds despite Armstrong poaching two key young players from the organization.

“No, I think things are fine,” Bowman told LeBrun. “I’ve known Doug a long time. He’s a very bright guy, a good person. I think sometimes more is made out of that. He was trying to do what he could to make his team better.

“Once you get past the surprise of it, and you then roll your sleeves up and get to work on what you want to do, I don’t think there’s any value in holding grudges. I mean, what good is going to come out of that? So, no, for me personally, you have to work with everybody in the league even if you don’t like people, but that’s not the case with Doug anyway. He’s a good person and I don’t have any animosity or issues with Doug Armstrong.”

Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway should help revitalize Blues

As the Blues look to retool after missing the postseason for the second consecutive time, Armstrong believes the two former first-rounders will help the squad get back to playoff contention sooner rather than later.

“We structured it that way in an attempt to get both players,” Armstrong told LeBrun. “We scouted them. We’ve watched their development. We thought there was a chance that we could get both when you looked at the Oilers’ contracts coming up and it ended up working out that way.

“It was a big day for the Blues. It was a long seven days, but after speaking with Stan [Bowman] after Day 5, it looked like it was going to happen and we were excited.”

Broberg was drafted No. 8 overall by the Oilers in 2019, and spent most of last season with the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors. He should immediately get a look on the Blues’ blue line, especially with Torey Krug out for the season.

Holloway will likely slot into the middle-six after playing in all of Edmonton’s postseason games in 2024. He’s also a former first-rounder, being selected No. 14 overall in 2020.

It will be interesting to see how much of an impact Broberg and Holloway make in St. Louis — and if Stan Bowman ends up regretting not matching the offer sheets.

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