In trying to acquire young talent, the Blues have resorted to a seldom-used tactic available in the collective bargaining agreement.
The Blues have signed two players to offer sheets.
The team announced on Tuesday morning that it signed Oilers forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg to offer sheets. Edmonton now has a week to match them. Holloway signed an offer sheet for two years at a $2,290,457 cap hit, while Broberg was at two years at a $4,580,917 cap hit.
If the offer sheet is matched, those players will remain with the Oilers. If it is not matched, the Blues will successfully acquire that player and must send draft pick compensation to Edmonton.
For Broberg, because of his $4,580,917 cap hit, the Blues would owe the Oilers a second-round pick. For Holloway ($2,290,457), it would be a third-round pick.
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Additionally, the Blues made a deal with Pittsburgh to reacquire their 2025 second-round pick from the Penguins that was traded at the draft to move the contract of Kevin Hayes. The Blues received their 2025 second-rounder and a 2026 fifth-rounder in exchange for a 2026 second-rounder and a 2025 third-rounder.
Teams must use their own picks as offer sheet compensation and are allowed to reacquire their own draft picks in order to make it work.
Broberg, 23, was the eighth pick in the 2019 draft but has struggled to stick in the NHL. He has played 81 career games in the NHL and has two goals and 11 assists. Last season, Broberg spent the majority of the season in the AHL with Bakersfield, logging 49 AHL games and 12 NHL games.
In the playoffs, Broberg was a healthy scratch through the first 2½ series, before he was inserted for Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against Dallas. He played the remaining 10 playoff games, averaging 15:48 of ice time.
Holloway, 22, was the No. 14 pick by the Oilers in 2020 and had nine points in 38 games last year in Edmonton. In the playoffs, though, he was a staple in the bottom six, playing all 25 of Edmonton’s postseason games as it lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He had five goals and two assists in the playoffs.
Holloway, a left-handed winger, is an above-average skater in the NHL. Last season, his top speed was 22.82 mph, which was in the 78th percentile among forwards. He had 78 speed bursts over 20 mph, which was in the 55th percentile.
The $4,580,917 cap hit for Broberg is the maximum salary that would require a second-round pick as compensation. The $2,290,457 cap hit for Holloway is the maximum for a third-round pick as compensation.
Cap-wise, the Blues were projected to have more than $7 million available this season with a full 23-man roster. That means they would still have some room left over if Broberg and Holloway are added to the roster (and two other players are removed).
Should the Blues acquire Broberg, he would add a 6-foot-3, smooth-skating defenseman to the young core in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. In the long term, he could help solidify the blue line should he play up to the expectations that made him the third defenseman drafted in 2019. He would be in the NHL sooner than prospects like Adam Jiricek or Theo Lindstein and would match the age that the Blues are targeting in their rebuild.
In the short term, Broberg’s potential acquisition would add to an already crowded group of defensemen. He would be the 10th defenseman on a one-way contract in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and the third blue liner acquired this summer by the Blues, joining Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Ryan Suter.
The Blues also have veterans Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy and Justin Faulk, plus young players Scott Perunovich, Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker. Torey Krug’s status for the upcoming season is still in the air after he was diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his ankle. Should Krug require surgery, he would miss the entire 2024-25 season.
Offer sheets are rare in today’s NHL, as nearly every restricted free agent re-signs with the team that owns his rights. Prior to Tuesday morning, since 2013, only two offer sheets have been signed, and both were involving the Hurricanes and Canadiens.
In 2019, Montreal signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year deal with a $8.454 million cap hit that Carolina matched to keep Aho. In 2021, the Hurricanes signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year deal worth $6.1 million that was not matched.
The Kotkaniemi offer sheet was the first successful one since 2007.
The Blues have not signed a player to an offer sheet since Steve Bernier in 2008. Vancouver matched that offer sheet, and ºüÀêÊÓƵ did not acquire Bernier.