Edmonton's decision to pass on Broberg/Holloway looking so much better just now
To assess Bowman's decision at the time, let's look at the facts he faced.
1. Due to neglect, slow-promotion, and the over-cooking of Broberg, the young player had soured on the Oilers organization by the fall of 2023.
When the Oilers sent him to Bakersfield of the AHL that fall, Broberg requested a trade. Broberg played well in Bako and it could be that if GM Ken Holland had pounced then and tried to sign up Broberg to a new deal, showing great interest in the player at a down moment, he could have got him signed. Oilers.
2. St. Louis had made a move to trade for Broberg and Dylan Holloway during the 2024 season, but Holland refused to make such a deal. That said, he evidently knew of St. Louis' interest in the players. Did he ever pass that on to Jeff Jackson, who took over from Holland as GM on July 1, 2025?
3. Jackson went on a free agent splurge that July, bringing in Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and bringing back team free agents like Adam Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark. There was wide approval of these moves, including from me, but the assumption was that Jackson also was close to reasonable deals with Holloway and Broberg, both Restricted Free Agents. Broberg had been a Top 4 d-man in the Stanley Cup Final, with Holloway a second line winger in that series. Surely the Oilers would not risk losing such fine young players to offer sheets, right?
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