When Edmonton Oilers91裸聊视频� general manager Stan Bowman got the news last week that the St. Louis Blues had tendered offer sheets to defenceman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway, his reaction was simple.

91裸聊视频淚 just really rolled up my sleeves and got to work,91裸聊视频� he said Tuesday during a virtual press conference.

After a week of playing phone tag with the other GMs around the league 91裸聊视频� and making a couple of trades that many fans believed would open the needed salary-cap space to retain the two players 91裸聊视频� Bowman and the rest of the Oilers brain trust decided not to match the Blues91裸聊视频� offers and let both players head off to Missouri.

Broberg91裸聊视频檚 two-year deal is worth US$4.58 million a season and Holloway91裸聊视频檚 two-year contract is valued at $2.29 million a season. Bowman said the economics didn91裸聊视频檛 work for the cap-strapped Oilers in the short- or long-term.

91裸聊视频淲e were evaluating the (salary-cap) situation we were in when those offer sheets came in,91裸聊视频� Bowman said. 91裸聊视频淕iven that, as well as the other constraints that we have, we didn91裸聊视频檛 feel like it was the right move to essentially limit our optionality moving forward 91裸聊视频� not only for this year, but in the future.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 less about the players and their abilities and their talents. It91裸聊视频檚 really about trying to set ourselves up to be in the best position we can be, so we have some options.91裸聊视频�

The Blues tendered the offers to the restricted free agents on Aug. 21, and the Oilers had until Tuesday morning to match. The Oilers received a second-round pick for Broberg and a third-round pick for Holloway as compensation. St. Louis reacquired its second-round draft pick in 2025 from the Pittsburgh Penguins last week to meet the required offer sheet compensation.

Bowman has to focus on making cap room for three star players.

Leon Draisaitl is entering the final year of his contract that pays him $8.5 million a year, and is up for a significant raise. Bowman confirmed negotiations have begun with Draisaitl91裸聊视频檚 camp, but he said he would not go into any detail about them out of respect to the player and the process.

Connor McDavid is entering the seventh year of an eight-year pact that pays him $12.5 million per season. And power-play quarterback Evan Bouchard is in the final year of a bridge deal that pays him $3.9 million.

Retaining all three players over the next two years will require millions upon millions in cap space. So, for Bowman, cap flexibility trumped the need to bring Broberg and/or Holloway back.

Broberg, a 23-year-old Swede, was drafted eighth overall by Edmonton in 2019 and had two goals and an assist in 10 games during Edmonton91裸聊视频檚 run to the Stanley Cup final.

Edmonton drafted Holloway 14th overall in 2020. The 22-year-old from Calgary had six goals and three assists in 38 games last season.

Broberg said accepting the offer sheet was simply 91裸聊视频渂usiness.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 very thankful for the years in Edmonton and for the teammates and the coaches I had there, and I91裸聊视频檓 looking forward to a new chapter in St. Louis now,91裸聊视频� Broberg said in a virtual media availability.

In a separate deal with the Blues, the Oilers acquired the rights to unsigned 2023 draft choice, defenceman Paul Fischer, as well as a 2028 third-round selection in exchange for future considerations.

The Oilers made two moves on Sunday, acquiring forward Vasily Podkolzin from Vancouver for a fourth-round draft pick and sending defenceman Cody Ceci and a third-round pick to San Jose for blueliner Ty Emberson. It appeared the Ceci move was made to free up space to match an offer sheet. He is owed $3.25 million next season in the final year of his contract

In the off-season, the Oilers lost defenceman Vincent Desharnais to the Canucks, who signed him as a free agent. So, the Oilers could be starting the season with Emberson, former Arizona Coyote Josh Brown and Troy Stecher fighting for third-defence-pairing jobs in camp.

Stecher was acquired at the trade deadline but played in just seven games for the Oilers, while Brown comes in as a free agent on a three-year deal.

Bowman said the team91裸聊视频檚 goal is to have the defensive corps shored up 91裸聊视频渂y the stretch run,91裸聊视频� and said Emberson, Brown and Stecher will be given every opportunity to prove themselves.

But he didn91裸聊视频檛 fully discount bowing out of the marketplace. There is the option of trying to find a veteran defenceman on a right-sized contract.

91裸聊视频淚 would say nothing is off the table at this point,91裸聊视频� said Bowman.

91裸聊视频淏ut we do have some new players and we have to give them an opportunity. Some of them have signed here for a reason, and, in Emberson91裸聊视频檚 case, we91裸聊视频檝e traded for him. We want to give them the chance to show that they can take the step forward and be assets for us.91裸聊视频�

As well, stashing forward Evander Kane91裸聊视频檚 $5.125 million cap hit on long-term injured reserve is not cut and dried. While Kane is not expected to be healthy enough to start the year on the roster, Bowman said the Oilers have no real idea on how long the player is expected to be out.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 something he will sort through with his doctors,91裸聊视频� said Bowman.

Extending offers to restricted free agents is a rare practice in the NHL. The last time a player signed an offer sheet was Jesperi Kotkaniemi in 2021 with Carolina, two years after Montreal tried to acquire Sebastian Aho from the Hurricanes with the same method.

Before Broberg, Holloway and Kotkaniemi, the last offer sheet not matched in 2007, when Edmonton pried forward Dustin Penner away from Anaheim.