With Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg’s futures as a team in doubt, the Edmonton Oilers used Sunday to identify some possible answers.
It all began when they acquired forward Vasili Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for the Ottawa Senators’ 2025 fourth-round selection. A few hours later, they dealt prospect defenseman Ty Emberson to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round choice.
Following the aggressive signing of Broberg and Holloway to offer sheets by the St. Louis Blues, the Oilers front management took all of these actions on Sunday. The Oilers, who were already over $350,000 above the threshold, required new contracts for its restricted free agents, Broberg and Holloway.
After the Blues signed Broberg and Holloway on Tuesday of last week, the Oilers had until this coming Tuesday to make the required space available to keep the two players, failing which they would forfeit their draft picks as payment.
Defenseman Broberg signed a two-year contract costing $4.58 million, while attacker Holloway signed a two-year contract worth $2.29 million. The Oilers will receive a second-round selection for Broberg and a third-round selection for Holloway from the Blues if they choose to forego their right of first refusal.
By acquiring Podkolzin, the No. 10 pick in 2019, the Oilers acquired a 23-year-old forward with a two-year contract at a cost that is affordable for the team: $1 million each year. In addition, if needed, it would theoretically give the Oilers with a Holloway substitute.
In contrast, the Oilers were able to add Emberson, who has one more year at $950,000, and let go of veteran defenseman Ceci, who has one year left on his $3.25 million contract, by trading Ceci.
The Oilers were able to save $2.3 million in cap space by making this trade, but even if they were to match the Blues’ offer sheets to Broberg and Holloway, PuckPedia projects them to be $5.925 million over the cap once.
After the Oilers lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, they immediately turned their attention to managing their financial position. The Oilers signed defenseman Josh Brown and acquired forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner less than two weeks after their season concluded. Along with defenseman Troy Stecher, they also welcomed back forwards Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, and Corey Perry.
However, the Oilers were left attempting to determine how they would be able to support one, if not both, players in light of the Blues’ offer sheets, while the Blues, on the other hand, have more than $7 million in salary space.
Podkolzin hasn’t quite lived up to expectations as the No. 10 pick, but he would provide the Oilers another option at forward in the bottom six for a team-friendly $1 million per year over the next two years. Last season, he scored 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games with their AHL club, but only managed two points in 19 games with the Canucks. In 137 games over his career, Podkolzin has 18 goals and 35 points.
The addition of Ceci to the Sharks’ roster adds another veteran after they added Carl Grundstrom, Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Walman, and Alexander Wennberg during the offseason. The team also added former Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in this summer’s draft, and former Boston College center Will Smith, the No. 4 pick in 2023.
