The Edmonton Oilers will need to clear some cap space to keep one or both of Dylan Holloway or Philip Broberg from being poached by the St. Louis Blues, but other teams aren’t going to take it easy on them.
According to new reporting by Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, teams around the league have shown interest in taking on either Cody Ceci or Brett Kulak to help relieve the financial pressure on the Oilers — but they’ll only do so if Edmonton attaches a high draft pick to either player.
Here’s an excerpt from Garrioch’s column, which focused primarily on how the Ottawa Senators avoided this kind of situation with then-RFA Shane Pinto earlier this summer:
League executives told Postmedia on Thursday that the Oilers were trying to get the contracts of defencemen Cody Ceci ($3.25 million) and Brent Kulak ($2.75) million off the books so they could match the offer sheets, and we’re told there are teams that have shown interest.
But, if teams are going to make those deals, they’re going to want something extra from the Oilers to take on Ceci or Kulak’s contracts. We’re told that could be a first- or second-round pick in both scenarios because teams know they’ve got Jackson cornered.
The price only goes up at this time of year because many teams have already settled their rosters and nobody will do the Oilers any favours without them ponying up another asset.
Ceci, 30, has just one year remaining on his existing contract. The 6’3″ right-handed defender is a popular figure in the Oilers’ dressing room but struggled enormously during the club’s run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Kulak, also 30, has two years left on his deal. The Oilers gave up a second-round pick to acquire the 6’2″ left-handed defender from the Montreal Canadiens two seasons ago; he averaged 16:30 of ice time in 25 playoff games with the Oilers this past spring.
The Blues may have forced the Oilers into dealing one or both of those veteran defenders when they signed Broberg and Holloway, Edmonton’s first-round picks in 2019 and 2020, to two-year offer sheets. Broberg’s new deal carries a $4.58 million cap hit; Holloway’s is worth $2.29 million per season.
Broberg, 23, skated in just 12 games with the Oilers during the 2023-24 regular season but emerged as a difference-maker midway through the club’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately appearing in 10 playoff games. Holloway, 22, stole his spot in the Oilers’ lineup during the regular season and continued in his role in the playoffs, dressing for all 25 contests against the Kings, Canucks, Stars, and Panthers.
