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How Broberg’s agent used Oilers’ cap crunch in 2024 to secure offer sheets

St. Louis Blues Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg

Photo credit: © Jeff Curry - USA Today

By Michael Menzies

Jul 23, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 23, 2026, 02:46 EDT

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Philip Broberg’s agent described on a podcast Wednesday what happened behind the scenes in securing an offer sheet for both his client and fellow Edmonton Oilers teammate Dylan Holloway, leading to their exit to St. Louis.

On Aug. 13, 2024, the St. Louis Blues signed Broberg to a two-year deal at $4,580,917, and Holloway to a two-year deal at $2,290,457, dollar figures at the top end of each player’s compensation formula.

Agent Darren Ferris detailed how he solicited offer sheets for Broberg on The PuckPedia Hockey Show to boost the earnings for his client, who had previously requested a trade out of Edmonton.

The idea was to capitalize on the Oilers’ limited cap space, which would incentivize the offer-sheeting team to believe they had a realistic chance of getting the players.

“When Edmonton put themselves in the position they were in, it made it more likely,” said Ferris on the possibility of an offer sheet.

“Because teams looked at that and said, ‘OK, now if I’m going to do an offer sheet, I want to make sure I get the player. We’re not here just to drive up dollars. We want to get the player and that offer sheet would make it uncomfortable for the team to match.’”

“We ended up waiting until after that arbitration period because the way that Edmonton could have matched, they could have bought out a player if they had a player who had arbitration rights, and they didn’t have one.

“We had to wait till that was over so that they couldn’t do it. That’s when the offer sheets were signed.”

How did the St. Louis Blues execute offer sheets for Broberg and Holloway?

Although Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet this summer shook up the hockey world due to the enormous AAV, the Blues’ strategic double-pronged offer sheets haven’t been seen in the NHL before.

And that strategy required coordination. Ferris said he did a lot of the legwork for Dylan Holloway’s agent Blake Robson during negotiations with Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

They also capitalized on a GM in Stan Bowman who was on the job for just three weeks, and hadn’t drafted either player.

“I originally was working on Philip’s offer sheet and calling around to try to position that, and in the process, I was actually helping Holloway’s agent at the time,” said Ferris.

“He reached out for some help in his negotiation. He was a new agent and I provided him with some counsel on his contract negotiations. And as it turned out, it kind of morphed into me setting up the offer sheet for both players.

“Realistically, that was how it was structured. Doug Armstrong brought up to me that he wanted to do both Holloway and Broberg. And I said, well, as it is, I’m actually advising both.”

It was a tenuous relationship between the former first-round pick in Broberg and the team that drafted him. Frustrated with his role, in December of the 2023-24 season, Broberg requested a trade, but GM Ken Holland wanted a player in return and not draft picks.

As the season neared the finish line, Broberg was called up and showed his potential in key spots of the postseason. In fact, his 10 playoff games were almost as many as the 12 he suited up for in the regular season.

What contracts did the Edmonton Oilers offer?

Needing a new contract, Blues reporter Andy Strickland believed the Oilers’ offers to Broberg were two years at a $1.1 million AAV, and three years for Holloway at $1.05 million.

Meanwhile, at the start of free agency, the Oilers got busy. With president Jeff Jackson now acting as GM for the time being, he re-signed Adam Henrique for $3 million, Mattias Janmark for $1.45 million, and Corey Perry for $1.4 million. They also brought in new faces like Viktor Arvidsson for $4 million and Jeff Skinner for $3 million.

These signings likely hurt the Oilers’ chances of retaining their two young up-and-comers, and Ferris says he and Holland were too far apart in their negotiations.

Strickland also reported at the time that two other teams were prepared to offer-sheet Broberg.

“Prior to that, Edmonton did try to sign Philip. I know Ken Holland and I had many discussions over time about signing him. During, I think, the Hlinka (Gretzky Cup), I even met with them and provided an offer to them.

“It wasn’t one they were comfortable with at the time. And it was outside of what the comparables were. But I knew the market was moving and I knew Philip would receive an offer sheet. And sure enough, it came to fruition. An offer sheet was presented and they decided not to match.”

What’s happened with Broberg, Holloway, and the Oilers acquisitions since?

Edmonton had one week to match and near the deadline they pulled off two trades, acquiring Vasily Podkolzin from Vancouver, and swapping Cody Ceci for Ty Emberson from San Jose.

Podkolzin in particular is coming off a fine season, scoring 19 goals and 37 points, and to Stan Bowman’s credit, is just about to begin a three-year deal at $2.95 million AAV.

Along with the second- and third-round picks in compensation, the Blues also sent Edmonton a 2028 third-rounder and the rights to NCAA prospect Paul Fischer, who’s played three seasons now at Notre Dame.

Holloway, however, exploded offensively, collecting 26 goals and 63 points once getting the pay bump. It was a far cry from the nine points he tallied in 38 games with the Oilers in 2023-24. He’s now beginning a five-year contract worth $7.75 million AAV.

The ever-shrewd Broberg will earn slightly more with an $8 million AAV for the next six seasons, playing a consistent top-four role on the St. Louis blue line.

Both appear firmly fixed in the Blues’ core for the long term, while their loss is still a sore spot for many Oilers fans, who were starting to see each player actualize their potential.

“He’s had some real good success in St. Louis and has since signed an extension to lock him there for even more term and years, and a good AAV increase as well,” said Ferris. “It’s good to see offer sheets. I think fans like it for entertainment purposes, but then also it shows that your GM is doing everything allowable in the CBA to be competitive and try to win.”

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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