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Philip Broberg, Edmonton Oilers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Oilers Fans Need to Move on From Broberg & Holloway

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Dale Bochon | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 4:40 PM ET

Some Edmonton Oilers fans are having a hard time letting go of the double offer sheets given to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway back on Aug. 20, 2024. One of my favourite hockey writers growing up was the great Terry Jones of the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun, and I was really disappointed to see that on March 20, he put out a tweet about what Broberg and Holloway were doing for the St. Louis Blues on the night Connor McDavid was hurt against the Winnipeg Jets. I’m singling out Jones, but if you search Twitter almost on a weekly basis, you’d still find Oilers fans still having issues with the team losing both Broberg and Holloway.

But update from St Louis. Holloway scores late. Broberg wins it in OT. No Draisaitl. No mMcDavid. No Holloway. No Broberg. Had no choice but to match. Didn’t.
— Terry Jones (@byterryjones) March 21, 2025

The way I look at it is, it’s no use looking back at something you can’t change. That goes for so many other things in life. What’s done is done. Hopefully, the lesson was learned. Even though Oilers fans, including myself, aren’t happy with what happened, it’s time (for me, at least) to move on.

Blues GM Armstrong Shared His Side of the Story

Blues general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong was on a March 21 episode of the Real Kyper and Bourne on Sportsnet where he revealed more details about the offer sheets he gave Broberg and Holloway and how both have performed in the 2024-25 NHL season. I’m convinced that if Armstrong’s friend, former Oilers GM Ken Holland, was still with the Oilers, the double offer sheets wouldn’t have happened. By submitting the offer sheets by the Aug. 20 deadline, Armstrong was able to give the Oilers the minimum amount of compensation, which turned out to be a second- and third-round draft pick in 2025. In his interview with Kyper and Bourne, Armstrong had a Freudian slip when he mentioned Holland’s name twice when referencing how other teams had handled their young prospects.

I don’t know what went on in Holland’s final season with the Oilers when Jeff Jackson was brought in to be President of Hockey Operations for the 2023-24 season, but the handling of Broberg especially was mismanaged by Holland. It seemed as though Broberg didn’t want to be part of the Oilers and wanted a fresh start, even though he had a solid performance for the Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Broberg should’ve been re-signed early in the 2023-24 NHL season, and Holloway, too, and this whole situation could’ve been avoided. What left a bad taste in many fans’ mouths was how vulnerable the Oilers were, especially with new GM Stan Bowman just signed, and faced with the task of matching the offer sheets for Broberg and Holloway just days into his new job with the Oilers.

Focusing on What’s Ahead for the Oilers

Broberg and Holloway are good players who may both go on to have great NHL careers. The Oilers miss their speed, size, and skill but have somehow managed to stay near the top of the NHL’s Pacific Division without them. I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for some Oilers fans to move on. Yes, it was a bad deal all around, but it’s done.

Philip Broberg, Edmonton Oilers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

It reminds me a lot of the lamenting that went on when the Oilers moved on from first-round pick Devan Dubnyk back in the 2013-14 NHL season. Dubnyk’s confidence was in a shambles in his final days in Edmonton, and he eventually moved on, gained his confidence back, and became a solid NHL goaltender. He didn’t win a Stanley Cup, but Oilers fans still wonder what if. Once a player moves on, I wish them well, and I go back to supporting the team without looking back.

Right now, the focus is on seeing if the Oilers have finally turned the corner after some missteps and stumbles a month after the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Oilers might have a deeper roster than they did last season, especially with the additions of Jake Walman and Trent Frederic. With free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner picking up their games as the playoffs draw near, Broberg and Holloway are that much further in the rearview mirror. That’s where they deserve to stay.