Oilers GM Believes Blues Overpaid in Offer Sheets: 'Way Above'

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman defended his franchise's decision to let Philip Broberg and Deylan Holloway go earlier this summer following the offer sheets submitted by the St. Louis Blues.

Bowman voiced his thoughts on the contract offers submitted by the Blues to Broberg and  Holloway, stating that St. Louis overpaid for the services of the two former Oilers.

Edmonton's GM feels that both contracts significantly overvalue the players' current performance, as he told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on Monday, September 9.

"The players can probably grow into those deals, but as of today, they’re way above their actual performance," Bowman said.

The Blues signed Broberg to a two-year contract with a $4.58-million average annual value (AAV) and Holloway to a two-year deal at a $2.29-million AAV.

Broberg, a 23-year-old defenseman, spent most of last season in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors, where he scored 38 points in 49 games.

The blue-liner appeared in just 12 regular-season games and 10 postseason contests for the Oilers, scoring 2 goals and 3 points in the playoffs.

Holloway, 22, had a mixed season, playing in 38 NHL games scoring 6 goals and 9 total points. He also logged 18 AHL appearances in which he scored 16 more points. Holloway also played in all 25 of Edmonton’s postseason games, contributing 5 goals and 7 points.

Bowman pushed back on the narrative that the Oilers negotiated poorly with their restricted free agents before losing them to offer sheets.

“The way it’s being portrayed is also a little bit unfair, that the Oilers were doing some sort of poor-faith negotiating,” Bowman said. “If you look at both those players, based on their performance, there's lots of comparable players that have signed this summer and recent years.”

For his part, Holloway revealed on August 30 that the Oilers didn't even try to re-sign him, as he received the Blues offer before even getting talks started with Edmonton.

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