Holloway felt slighted by Edmonton Oilers before signing offer sheet last summer
The effects of last summer’s duel offer sheets are still lingering around the Edmonton Oilers.
It may feel like old news, with both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg now having a full season under their belt with the St. Louis Blues, but losing those two players directly contributed to the team’s plans this summer.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman made a concerted effort to get younger this offseason and added a dynamic forward in Ike Howard to do so. That may not have been the case if Holloway had stayed in the Alberta capital, and it turns out that he actually wanted to return to the Oilers before signing the offer sheet.
Holloway appeared on the Cam and Strick Podcast earlier this week, where he once again opened up about the reason for his Oilers departure.
“Alberta boy, I wanted to go back to Edmonton with the team we went so far with,” Holloway said. “It rubbed me the wrong way how little Edmonton thought of me in our contract negotiations and whatnot.
“We just weren’t on the same page. I didn’t feel like I was asking for anything unfair at all, but being an RFA and their limited cap space, they just figured they could sign me to whatever they wanted.”
The Bragg Creek, Alberta native confirmed that he did not have contract talks with Ken Holland, but refused to discuss the nitty-gritty details of his negotiations with the Oilers.
Holloway inked a two-year deal with the Blues last summer, which carries a cap hit of $2.29 million. The Oilers had a chance to match this contract but opted to walk away from it. With the 23-year-old breaking out for 26 goals and 63 points last year, that is looking like an absolute bargain for Holloway.
He would have ranked fourth on Edmonton in scoring last season, behind only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard. Considering the Oilers signed underperforming players such as Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, not bringing back Holloway now looks like a colossal mistake.
What’s done is done when it comes to this offer sheet business, but it’s clear that Holloway valued his time in Edmonton and wanted to remain an Oiler. The team’s cap space situation, combined with some questionable judgment from management, prevented that from happening.
All Oilers fans can do now is ponder “what-if” scenarios.