Pair of Oilers RFAs could be targets of an offer sheet this summer

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Cooper Godin
August 5, 2024 (4:03 PM)

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A pair of Edmonton Oilers restricted free agents could be the targets of an offer sheet this summer.

As we officially enter the second month of the National Hockey League's free agency period, one team to keep an eye on is the defending Western Conference champions, the Edmonton Oilers.

According to PuckPedia, the Edmonton Oilers currently have negative cap space at -$354,167 and still need to lock up a pair of restricted free agents on their roster - forward Dylan Holloway and defenceman Philip Broberg.

With Edmonton's current cap situation, Brian La Rose of Pro Hockey Rumours thinks that Holloway and Broberg could be targets of an offer sheet before the start of next season.

"While offer sheets are few and far between in the NHL, all it takes is one team that decides to try to disrupt things and sign a player on a cap-strapped team to an offer sheet to change things. Looking at who is left, Edmonton is a team that would find themselves in a tough spot if one of their restricted free agents, defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway, were to eventually sign an offer sheet with another team." La Rose said.

An offer sheet would make a lot of sense for other teams around the NHL when it comes to either Dylan Holloway or Philip Broberg, especially the former. Holloway is still looking to stick in the National Hockey League on a full-time basis next season and proved he's able to during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, appearing in all 25 of Edmonton's games as they fell to the Florida Panthers in the Final.

As for Philip Broberg, his development has been a lot slower than many expected when the Oilers selected him eighth overall back in 2019. Despite this, Broberg had a career year in the American Hockey League with Bakersfield, putting up 38 points in 49 games. He also got into ten games for the Oilers during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Any team submitting an offer sheet to the Edmonton Oilers would put newly-hired General Manager Stan Bowman in a very difficult situation. Bowman would either have to match the offer sheet, which will cause further cap trouble or let the player go to their new team and accept whatever the compensation would be, depending on the AAV of the contract.

It's going to be interesting to see if any team around the NHL is willing to take the risk of offer sheeting Dylan Holloway or Philip Broberg and how Stan Bowman will be able to get the Oilers under the cap and sign the pair by the time opening night rolls around in October.