Good thing Doug Armstrong’s mother isn’t a general manager in the NHL.
She might have been on the receiving end of Armstrong’s double offer sheet that netted the Blues defensemen Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway on Tuesday morning.
“If there is a GM code not to do offer sheets, nobody emailed it to me,†Armstrong said during a video conference on Tuesday afternoon. “This is a tool that I think everyone uses and should use. 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 ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues fans and the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues organization. We saw an opportunity to do that. There’s no code.â€
On Tuesday, the weeklong wait to find out whether Edmonton would match ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ offer sheets for Broberg and Holloway ended, as the Oilers declined to match the offers and instead accepted draft pick compensation from the Blues. Broberg and Holloway officially joined the Blues organization.
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For Broberg, now signed to a two-year contract worth $4.58 million annually, the Blues had to send their 2025 second-rounder to Edmonton. For Holloway (two years at $2.29 million), they had to send their 2025 third-rounder to the Oilers.
“We did this because we wanted to improve the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues,†Armstrong said. “That’s the bottom line. There’s no other ulterior motive to this. My job is to do what’s best for the ºüÀêÊÓƵ fan base, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ ownership group and the organization as a whole. I thought this was an opportunity that doesn’t come around all the time.
“We had the picks, we had the cap space, they fit into a plan we have that Mr. Stillman and his partners have signed off on of trying to build something sustainable.â€
Broberg, 23, and Holloway, 22, fit into the age group that the Blues have been trying to build around as they transition from one core to another. As ºüÀêÊÓƵ nurtures Robert Thomas (25) and Jordan Kyrou (26) through their primes, it is beginning to surround them with more and more young talent.
The Blues now have 10 first-round picks in their organization who were selected in the past six years with the addition of Broberg (eighth overall in 2019) and Holloway (14th in 2020). Over the summer, the team made minor moves to acquire young players like 24-year-old Alexandre Texier and 25-year-old Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
It has first-rounders like Zack Bolduc, Zach Dean, Dalibor Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud who could impact NHL games this season.
“As we’re building a foundation, we have the ability to let guys grow into roles,†Armstrong said. “From 2013-2022 in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, we didn’t have the ability to let players grow into roles. We were trying to win championships. We’re in a different spot right now.â€
For this upcoming season, Armstrong said the Blues view Holloway as a top-nine forward and Broberg as a top-four defenseman.
Holloway has 18 points in 89 career NHL games, while Broberg averaged 11:37 of ice time in 12 NHL games last season. In the playoffs, though, Holloway had five goals in 25 games, and Broberg logged almost 16 minutes a game across Edmonton’s final 10 postseason games.
“Maybe overpaying, if you want to say that, for these guys wasn’t difficult for us because we have the cap space,†Armstrong said. “I believe that when their contracts are done, the cap should be approximately $100 million potentially. If it’s at $100 million, these guys are 2.2% and 4.5%, we think that it’s a good investment for us, a good investment for the Blues. We think highly of these players; we think they’re going to key players on our team.â€
Depending on the final makeup of their roster, the Blues should have about $2 million of cap space to work with during the season.
In the salary-cap era, offer sheets have been rare, as the vast majority of restricted free agents simply sign with their current teams. Some have attributed that to the cap system, where spending can affect on-ice performance. Others have said that NHL GMs would rather not ruffle feathers by poaching players from other teams.
“This wasn’t anything against an organization,†Armstrong said. “This was an attempt for us to get better. That’s the only reason we did it. It was successful, and we would do it again if we think it’d be successful. That code that I have been hearing about, it’s not true. Managers do what they have to do for their franchises. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be doing their job.â€
Earlier in the summer, Armstrong hinted at the possibility of signing RFAs to offer sheets. He talked about the perception that offer sheets are taboo to GMs but clarified that “offer sheets that don’t work are taboo by managers.â€
And so he went out and got Broberg and Holloway.
“I don’t believe in offer sheets to harm an organization, meaning put an offer sheet in on them because you know they’re going to match but it puts them in a bad spot,†Armstrong said. “At least for me, I wouldn’t do that. I don’t see the purpose in that. I think the purpose of an offer sheet is if you look at a franchise and you think you have an opportunity to get a player, you do it. That’s the way we looked at this one.â€
Now, part of the concern about offer sheets is that the Oilers may seek revenge on the Blues when they have unsigned RFAs. Next summer, Jake Neighbours will be due a new contract, and Joel Hofer will need one the summer after that.
Edmonton, of course, is already tight to the cap and will be looking at new contracts for Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard.
“Moving forward, I’ll speak for the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues, that when we have good young free agents, we’re going to leave enough cap space there to sign those guys,†Armstrong said.