The Edmonton Oilers were already in a precarious spot from a salary cap standpoint before the St. Louis Blues signed RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to two-year offer sheets earlier this week.
Now, things are starting to look truly dire — and the present circumstances might push the Oilers’ management group to consider moves they had been trying to avoid making.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Wednesday’s edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, the Oilers may be forced to move veteran defenceman Cody Ceci to make room for one or both of their RFAs in limbo.
“You know, I’m sure Cody Ceci was happy that the summer kind of quieted down. This is going to give a whole new life to Cody Ceci trade rumours,” Friedman said. “You know, the thing I do believe is if the Edmonton Oilers wanted to make that move, they could. They had options, but I don’t know yet that that’s really what they want to do.
“However, now that St. Louis has done this, they might be boxed into it and forced into it.”
Ceci, 30, is under contract with the Oilers for one more season at a $3.25 million cap hit. The 6’2″, 209-pound defender is a popular player in Edmonton’s dressing room but struggled on a pairing with Darnell Nurse throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Friedman added during Wednesday’s show that the Blues had previously inquired about both Broberg and Holloway during trade discussions with the Oilers about Pavel Buchnevich during the 2023-24 season. The two recent first-round picks had been the Oilers’ only RFAs before signing with St. Louis.
Broberg, who is more than seven years younger than Ceci, emerged as a positive difference-maker with the Oilers late in their 2024 playoff run, but his new $4.58 million cap hit over the following two seasons will be difficult for the club to accommodate. If the Oilers allow Broberg to leave for St. Louis, they’ll receive the Blues’ 2025 second-round pick as compensation.
Holloway is a year younger than Broberg and has already established himself slightly more at the NHL level, having appeared in 38 games with the Oilers during the 2023-24 regular season and all 25 games in the playoffs. His new two-year deal carries a $2.29 million cap hit; the Oilers will get St. Louis’ 2025 third-round pick if they let him walk.
