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In the end, the Edmonton Oilers’ decision not to match the offer sheets defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway received from the St. Louis Blues on Aug. 13 was much more about the future than the present.

Sure, Broberg, 23, and Holloway, 22, could have been a part of the Oilers’ success going forward, as they were in helping them reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers last season before falling one win short of their first championship since 1990. But the Oilers’ difficult choice to let the two restricted free agents join the Blues focused on a bigger picture in which they need to fit Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and, eventually, Connor McDavid into their long-term salary cap structure while also leaving the short-term flexibility to maneuver under its confines and make another run at the Cup this season.

That included having space to keep Evander Kane and his $5.125 million salary cap hit off long-term injured reserve while it’s determined whether he’ll require sports hernia surgery.

If Edmonton had matched the contracts St. Louis offered Broberg (two years, $9.16 million; $4.58 million average annual value) and Holloway (two years, $4.58 million; $2.9 million AAV), it would have been challenging. Therefore, when their decision-making period ended on Tuesday, the Oilers chose to accept the compensation from the Blues – a second-round pick for Broberg and a third-round pick for Holloway in the 2025 NHL Draft – and proceed.

“Let me be clear, this is in no way a reflection of the players,” said Stan Bowman, the general manager of the Oilers. “I had no issues with the players or anything of that sort. This was purely a business decision, considering both our short-term and long-term viability of our roster within the salary cap constraints.”

The appointment of Bowman as the GM for the Oilers on July 24, succeeding Ken Holland whose five-year contract concluded on July 1, was quickly put to the test with the twin offer sheets. Whether the Oilers’ decisions regarding Broberg and Holloway were correct remains to be seen. It’s inevitable that there will be extensive discussions about whether they could have taken different steps prior to Aug. 13 to prevent being placed in this predicament.

Looking forward, there are more pressing priorities, starting with Draisaitl, who is approaching the last season of his eight-year contract worth $68 million ($8.5 million AAV). He will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025. Bowman revealed that he has started initial talks with Draisaitl’s agent, Mike Luit, who is 28 years old, but chose not to disclose any details.

“Don’t interpret any negativity from that,” he stated. “I’m simply not inclined to assign any timelines or such to it. We’ve initiated the process and we’ll definitely inform everyone if there are any updates.”

Aside from McDavid, Draisaitl is the most significant player for the Oilers. In the previous NHL season, he ranked seventh with a total of 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists) from 81 regular-season games and third in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) from 25 games. Despite the anticipated increase in the salary cap from $88 million this season, committing a combined $7.48 million in AAV for Broberg and Holloway in the 2025-26 season could have posed limitations, especially with Bouchard entering the last season of his two-year, $7.8 million contract ($3.9 million AAV). The 24-year-old defenseman will be eligible to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1 the following year.

The day when McDavid will be eligible to sign a new contract with Edmonton is also the same day. The Oilers captain, who is 27 years old, has two more seasons left on his eight-year contract worth $100 million ($12.5 million AAV). He will attain unrestricted free agent status if he does not sign a new deal before the current one expires.

The Oilers had all of that in mind as they decided how to handle the offer sheets for Broberg and Holloway.

Bowman stated, “The alternative scenarios, either matching both or one of them, would have considerably altered our position with the salary cap for this season, not to mention future years. That is why we took the actions we did.”

Bowman underlined the significance of not placing Kane on long-term injured reserve. While it remains uncertain if the 33-year-old forward will be absent for any duration, even in the event of him needing surgery and being sidelined for a prolonged period, Edmonton anticipates his return at some point during this season. Consequently, the team would require enough salary cap space to include him in its active roster.

If Kane avoids being put on Long Term Injury (LTI) and the Oilers have some remaining salary cap space, they will accumulate more space as the season advances. This will provide them the opportunity to acquire additional players prior to the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline to strengthen their team for the playoffs.

Bowman explained, “When you activate a player after a long-term injury lasting a few months, you start with no cap space and need to build it up. However, this can’t be achieved in just a month or so. All these factors were considered in our decision-making process.”

Once the decision was made not to match the offer sheets, the Oilers made three trades for younger players. They acquired forward Vasily Podkolzin, 23, from the Vancouver Canucks (for a fourth-round pick in 2025) and defenseman Ty Emberson, 24, from the San Jose Sharks (for defenseman Cody Ceci and a third-round pick in 2025) on Sunday and defenseman prospect Paul Fischer, 19, plus a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft from the Blues (for future considerations) on Monday.

The relocation of Ceci, who still has a season left in his four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 AAV), has cleared up more salary cap for this season. However, it also results in Edmonton losing three of their top seven defensemen from the previous season, as Broberg and Vincent Desharnais (now signed with Vancouver) have also left.

The Oilers will try to get by — at least to begin the season — with what they have, including Emberson and Josh Brown, who was signed to a three-year, $3 million contract ($1 million AAV) on July 1.

Bowman said, “We have a different group now than before, and we’re optimistic that some of those defensemen can step up and take on bigger responsibilities. However, this situation also creates more opportunities for us to potentially free up some cap space and be competitive. If the need arises and we decide to recruit more players, this scenario could make that possible.”