The Edmonton Oilers were looking to make a big swing in the trade market ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline this year.
While examining all their options, the club scouted St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich and spoke to them about a potential trade. The reported ask from St. Louis was two first-round picks, “or something like it,” according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
And now, according to Friedman, the Blues had expressed some interest in both Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, the duo they signed to offer sheets earlier this week:
“I believe that when Edmonton and St. Louis talked about Pavel Buchnevich, before the Blues kept him and eventually extended him, I think the Oilers knew that the Blues liked both players. I think that when they were talking Buchnevich, and I don’t know that it even came close to a deal, I think both Holloway and Broberg were players the Blues had asked about. At the very least, the Oilers knew the Blues had some interest.”
That interest is understandable, and in hindsight, takes away some of the surprise of the offer sheets. Holloway had been with the big club at the time of the deadline, having played 18 games in the 2024 calendar year after returning from a broken knee cap suffered in the middle of last November, having scored two goals and three points over that time. He remained relatively buried in the lineup, averaging just 10:47 in ice time.
Holloway would go on to have somewhat of a breakout performance in the playoffs, playing in all 25 playoff games, scoring five goals and seven points, averaging 11:30 per game. What’s notable, however, is how he took on a bigger role the deeper the playoffs went, averaging 10:34 per game against the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks through the first two rounds, rising to 12:23 per night against the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers. He got bumped up the lineup at the time, playing alongside Leon Draisaitl on the second line.
Broberg, meanwhile, was in the American Hockey League at the NHL trade deadline, with the Oilers indicating to teams ahead of it they wouldn’t be moving the rearguard for a rental. He was finding his game playing big minutes for the Bakersfield Condors, getting a late-season call-up and eventually beating out Vincent Desharnais for a regular spot in the lineup in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Stars, playing in all seven games against the Panthers.
The pair could certainly be considered the “something like it” when it comes to what the Blues were looking for in a potential Buchnevich trade. Hindsight is always 20/20 in situations like these, but one has to wonder if the Oilers regret not pushing ahead with a trade involving this trio of players.
