Oilers bombshells: Broberg may be unhappy in Edmonton and there will definitely be no offer as long as Holland is in charge

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has released some big surprises about the Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway offers. Friedman said he believes the Oilers will outbid Holloway’s offer, but he isn’t sure about Broberg’s offer.

Speaking to Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, Friedman said there’s no way St. Louis would have made such offers if Ken Holland was still GM of the Edmonton Oilers. Holland was replaced by Stan Bowman in July.

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“If Ken Holland were still GM of the Edmonton Oilers, there’s no way that offer documents would have been completed. I think (St. Louis GM) Doug Armstrong’s friendship with Ken Holland definitely played a role in how this turned out.”

Friedman also said Broberg was unhappy with the Edmonton Oilers’ handling of him during the season and may still be unhappy.

Broberg was relegated to the American Hockey League for much of the 2023–24 season after the Oilers traded experienced players such as Brett Kulak and Mattias Ekholm in previous years, blocking his progress.

Broberg’s offer had been on the table for some time, Friedman said. “It’s becoming increasingly clear to me now that Broberg has thought long and hard about it.”

It was never confirmed that Broberg had asked for a transfer following his AHL demotion in December 2023, Friedman said, but that’s exactly what happened. Things got better for Broberg as this season progressed, with the young Swede playing well in both the AHL and the NHL playoffs.

But Friedman said of Broberg’s trade request: “I’m just not convinced that he ever changed his mind.”

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All agents are pushing for restricted free agent offers, Friedman said. Teams other than St. Louis have considered it, with St. Louis deciding its best chance of success was to sign two young Oilers. Dylan Holloway needed more convincing than Broberg to sign the offer, but he eventually came around to it.

The Oilers attempted to sign Holloway, making the young player a three-year offer, but it was at a lower amount than Holloway and his agent were willing to accept.

As for Broberg, Friedman heard that the player wanted $1.8 million, but it’s uncertain how it went. “One person told me he wasn’t even convinced the Oilers really made a lot of money knowing Broberg wanted to be traded. The bottom line was that they were very, very divided on Broberg. They knew they had a player who was unhappy.”

If Broberg hasn’t changed his mind about the Oilers, Stauffer said that will have to be taken into account when the Oilers decide whether or not to compete.

Friedman said one reason Broberg was excited to sign with St. Louis was because he knew he would play left guard, his strong side. In Edmonton, he had to play his offside position on the right guard in the playoffs, along with Darnell Nurse.

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Stauffer agreed with that point, saying the Oilers had some fault for not making it easy for Broberg or Holloway to break into the big team.

As for Broberg’s offer, Friedman said, “The big challenge is that you get out of balance (in terms of the salary cap) when you match Broberg. It’s like a big poison pill.”

A big risk is that the Broberg camp has already asked for a transfer, said Stauffer. “The camp was not happy.” He added, however, that he had never heard such dissatisfaction from the Holloway camp.

Friedman said, “If the Oilers hold up and keep Broberg, they have two years to figure this out. He’ll play, he’ll play a lot and eventually he’ll show his strengths, if not next year… If they hold up, they have two years to figure this out and build a new relationship… If they hold up, they can’t trade him for a year. So it’s in Broberg’s and their best interest to make it work. I believe relationships can be changed.”

My opinion

1. Fascinating information, especially if Friedman is reading this correctly and relations between Broberg and the Oilers have deteriorated to some degree. Friedman is a sharp guy with great sources, so I put a lot of weight on his opinion on this. It is credible.

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2. Do the Oilers want to invest a lot of money in a player who isn’t keen to be here? I guess that depends on how upset both sides are at this point. But I agree with Friedman that if the Oilers play together, there will be plenty of time to work things out and build a new relationship.

Now Stan Bowman is in charge, not Holland, with relatively new coaches like Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey. Both coaches could be great for Broberg.

3. Finally, if the Oilers match Broberg with that massive raise, that’s a brilliant start to any new relationship, right? If Broberg wants the Oilers to have faith in him, to walk with him, to commit to him, then matching St. Louis’ offer is proof that Edmonton is walking the talk, right?

4. As for the Ken Holland news, NHL insider John Shannon previously said he believed Armstrong would have done the same thing to the Oilers even if Holland had been in charge. Friedman disagrees.

I value the testimony of these two experienced observers. We do not know the answer for sure because we cannot read Armstrong’s mind.

At the same time, Armstrong’s job is to win, so he could have outdone any other Oilers coach, even Holland.

At the cult of hockey

STAPLES: “I wouldn’t blame these two guys”: Former Edmonton Oilers star player rightly supports Broberg and Holloway

McCURDY: The Blues attack the Oilers where it hurts and try to exploit their youth and speed

STAPLES: Oilers have a trump card against Blues

STAPLES: Did Holland give away the puck because it couldn’t sign Broberg and Holloway?

McCURDY: It looks very likely that Kane will go on the injury list

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