The Edmonton Oilers were involved in two trade yesterday, though one was not what anybody had envisioned. That move saw them acquire Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks. Going the other way is a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft. The 23-year-old has yet to find his footing at the NHL level, but was taken 10th overall in 2019. That situation isn’t all that far off for another Oilers forward who has been in the news a lot lately and may soon be part of a new organization.
Related: Former Oilers GM Largely to Blame for Holloway/Broberg Debacle
The other move was far less surprising, as the Oilers sent Cody Ceci and a third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Ty Emberson. This moves out some much needed cap space, and gives a good idea of the decision the Oilers will make regarding a surprising situation that came up earlier in the week.
Podkolzin May Be a Holloway Replacement
Oilers management, along with many others in the hockey community, were shocked on Tuesday morning when it was announced that the St. Louis Blues had signed both Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets. It was a worst-case scenario for the Oilers, who were already above the NHL’s maximum salary cap without the two young talents locked up.
At the time the deals were announced, most seemed to think the Oilers would let Broberg walk, given that his next contract, a two-year deal, will carry a $4.58 million cap hit. Though losing Broberg would hurt, Holloway’s two-year deal with a $2.29 million cap hit felt much easier to match. These two recent trades, however, change things.
Much like Podkolzin, Holloway is a high draft pick that is still working towards being an everyday NHLer. His playoff run months ago ensured that he would be on the Oilers roster to begin the 2024-25 season, but some question marks certainly remain as to how he will fare over an 82-game schedule.
This pickup from the Oilers seems to suggest that they are planning to swap out one young forward for another, as they wouldn’t have room for both on their roster this season. While Podkolzin is a downgrade, it would be a decent swap for general manager (GM) Stan Bowman given how tricky of a situation he was in.
Moving Ceci, meanwhile, not only creates more money to retain Broberg, but will give the 23-year-old defenceman a bigger role this coming season. The Oilers blue line is already thin as is, meaning they cannot afford to lose both Ceci and Broberg just days apart.
Assuming this is the route they go, it may not be the worst decision. While Holloway gained many fans thanks to his play in the postseason, Broberg undoubtedly has the higher potential of the two. It is nearly impossible to imagine the Oilers letting both walk, and this trade seems to suggest they’ve made their decision. While Broberg’s cap hit will be frustratingly high for the next two seasons, he has all the makings of a player who, at worst, will become a top-four defenceman in the NHL.
Debacle From Oilers Front Office
While Bowman can’t be blamed for any of this and did his best to try and minimize the impact, this entire situation was horrendous asset management from the Oilers front office. Former GM Ken Holland wears plenty of the blame, as he was instructed to re-sign both players roughly midway through the 2023-24 season.
Jeff Jackson, who served as the interim GM prior to the hiring of Holland, also deserves plenty of blame in all of this. He had all offseason up until last Tuesday to work out deals with both players, and seemed content just waiting things out in an attempt to save as much money as he could for his team. He was likely thinking what everyone else was, offer sheets never seem to happen. He learned the hard way, however, that they are always a possibility.
Related: Oilers Front Office Ranked Horrendously Low in Recent Survey
Should the Oilers indeed move on from Holloway, which seems likely given last night’s transactions, they will receive just a third-round pick in return. It’s a frustrating outcome given that, not only did they use a 14th pick in 2020 to select Holloway, but he looks like he could become an impactful middle-six winger for years to come.
