Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman comments on his decision to let Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway go

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James Connelly
August 20, 2024 (3:30 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers chose to let go of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway after the St. Louis Blues' offer sheets and GM Stan Bowman has shared the logic behind this decision.

Today, the Edmonton Oilers made their final decision on the dueling offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues for youngsters Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, officially deciding to let them leave for a second-round and third-round pick respectively.

The Oilers had made moves to be able to match these offer sheets by trading Cody Ceci earlier in the week to the San Jose Sharks for Ty Emberson, however, they deemed that it was better to keep the cap space that they have and get the picks from the Blues.

Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman has now shared the insights behind his decision to let Holloway and Broberg head to St. Louis. Gene Principe shares the following:

Clearly, the Oilers want to be better set up for long-term moves down the road as they will be contending for the Stanley Cup again this year and will be looking to add at the trade deadline.

The players they let go of, are some high-pedigree players who haven't shown the best of their capabilities at the NHL level.

First off, Broberg, the 8th overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft, is a 6'4" mobile defenseman who fits the prototypical mold for modern NHL defensemen. He has 81 games of experience at the NHL level over the past three seasons. Through these 81 games, he has scored 13 total points while averaging just 12:42 a night in Edmonton. In the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Broberg impressed playing on his off-hand and this was likely a large part of why the Blues decided to tender an offer sheet.

Holloway is a bit younger than Broberg as a 2020 draft pick where he was selected 14th overall by Edmonton. He has 89 games of NHL experience over the past two seasons and has bounced between the NHL and AHL with the Bakersfield Condors. While he only has 18 career points in the NHL, Holloway will look to be a key player for the Blues moving forward.

Source for Philip Broberg's statistics: NHL.com
Philip Broberg's profile

Source for Dylan Holloway's statistics: Elite Prospects
Dylan Holloway's profile