Oilers, Sharks swap defensemen

The Edmonton Oilers have traded defenseman Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Ty Emberson. 

The deal was initially reported by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, who adds that no salary cap was retained. Spector mentions that moving Ceci’s $3.25M cap hit could give Edmonton enough space to retain defenseman Philip Broberg, while forward Dylan Holloway could be headed to the St. Louis Blues. Both players recently signed two-year offer sheets with the Blues — Broberg’s totaling $9.16M in salary and Holloway’s totaling $4.58M.

The two restricted free agents are in similar spots in their careers —yet to vindicate their first-round precedent though still carving out routine roles in Edmonton’s lineup. They were even utilized to a similar extent, both averaging roughly 11:30 in ice time this season, though Holloway played 38 games to Broberg’s 12. 

Retaining both players would cost the Oilers $6.87M in cap hit — a tough bill to pay for an Oilers team that was already $8.225M over the cap ceiling. It seems the team is opting to hold onto the defenseman, though it will cost them near-800-game veteran Cody Ceci.

Despite routinely receiving criticism, Ceci was an anchor of Edmonton’s top-four last season, averaging 20 minutes of total ice time and totaling more penalty-kill time than any other Oiler. He ended the year with five goals and 25 points in 79 games this season, adding five points in 24 playoff games — where he notoriously partnered with Darnell Nurse for some of the best and worst moments of the postseason. 

Ceci will move to his fifth NHL franchise in this trade after three years in Edmonton. He’ll seemingly — and perhaps surprisingly — become San Jose’s top right defenseman, joining a room occupied by Calen Addison, Jan Ruutta and Matt Benning. 

He’ll be the second-most experienced on the blue line, though leader Marc-Edouard Vlasic — who’s just four games shy of 1,300 career games — became a routine healthy scratch last season.

Ceci’s departure opens a big hole in the Oilers blue line, which could finally yield the opportunity that Broberg’s been waiting for. He’s only averaged 12:42 in ice time through 81 career games and hasn’t played over 19 minutes in a single game since November 2021. Broberg has yielded 13 career points in the limited role, though stepping into top-four minutes could be enough to kick the former top-10 pick into high gear.

That could cost them winger Holloway, who’s scored 18 career points— and added seven in 25 games this postseason. Holloway was drafted 14th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft; selected after a strong freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, where he totaled 52 points in 58 games over two years in Wisconsin before turning pro in 2021. 

He has since bounced between the NHL and AHL lineups, showing flashes of promise as a hefty play-driver but never finding his spark. His 6-foot-1, 206-pound frame is just 10 pounds heavier than winger Vasily Podkolzin, who Edmonton acquired for a 2025 third-round pick earlier Sunday. 

Podkolzin fits into the same conversation as Holloway and Broberg —a former top draft pick now struggling to show what he can do at the top level. The size similarities and Podkolzin’s cheap $1M cap hit seem to back the idea that Holloway could be headed to St. Louis — though nothing is official yet.

Regardless of the decision with Broberg and Holloway, Edmonton emerges from this swap with young defender Ty Emberson, who played through his first 30 NHL games last season, scoring 10 points and showing value as a shutdown defender on a struggling San Jose roster. But a lower-body laceration suffered in February cut Emberson’s rookie year short, leaving Sharks fans guessing as to where his upside might fall.

Multiple teams have shown interest in Emberson at one point. He was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes, ahead of a three-year tenure at the University of Wisconsin, where he managed 34 points in 101 games. 

Emberson turned pro with the Tuscon Roadrunners in 2020, getting a taste of tougher competition before a 2022 trade to the New York Rangers in exchange for Patrick Nemeth and draft picks in 2025 and 2026. 

New York signed Emberson to a one-year, league-minimum contract but placed him on waivers two months later. San Jose placed a claim as the fourth team on the priority list, ultimately pushing Emberson into his first NHL role. He’ll now move to Edmonton with the chance for even more growth, as he battles Broberg and Nurse for ice time on the right-hand side.

The Oilers are faced with a looming and difficult decision — keep Broberg or Holloway? They’ve acquired like counterparts for both players and could yet make more moves. While speculation is aplenty, the hockey world will have to anticipate Edmonton’s answer for at least a little while longer.